


Days of Shouko

by misCOWculation



Series: Those Bygone Years [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: And Lucky Star, F/M, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Haikyuu - Freeform, Heartwarming, Heavily inspired from Yotsuba&!, I'm shameless, Like srsly no joke it's basically a slight different version of Yotsuba&!, No Plot/Plotless, Random people doing random things, Slice of Life, Summer, Summer Festival, VERY heavily inspired by Yotsuba&!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misCOWculation/pseuds/misCOWculation
Summary: A glimpse of life with the Oikawa family and friends. Part of "Kindergarten Bully" (The Sea of Life) universe. Could be considered the sequel to Kindergarten Bully. Very heavily inspired by Yotsuba! A fanfiction about literally nothing in particular. Just random people doing random things. You should probably read the first fic to get everything.





	1. Drawing

_Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored._

—  _Earl Nightingale_

* * *

Yawning, a small girl with shoulder length fluffy brown hair stood on her toes to unlock the gate, grunting when her fingers skimmed across the lock. She whined softly and put even more strain on her toes.  _Come... on! Just a little bit... more!_ With a small shout, she successfully lifted the latch keeping the gate attached to the fencing.  _Yes!_ She beamed, slipped on her velcro-strapped sneakers, and ran to the neighbor's house. It was still quite early in the morning but she knew that the residents of the house next door were already awake.

In seconds, she was standing in front of  _their_ gate, which was thankfully low enough for her to reach with ease. She wasted no time unlocking it and toeing off her shoes at the front door. Then she straightened her back—the same way that she had always seen her mother do when she talked to her father's parents—and knocked on the door unabashedly.

"ONEE-CHAN!" she shouted as she continued to pound her fist on the door, grinning excitedly at the prospect of seeing her again.

At last, the door was opened by none other than Shimizu Kiyoko—or Iwaizumi Kiyoko, as she was now known as. The woman smiled gently at the child, her glasses slipping down her nose slightly as she tilted her head downward to regard the little girl.

"Good morning, onee-chan!" the small child, who was no older than five, chirped.

"Good morning, Sho-chan," Kiyoko greeted softly, still smiling. "And for the last time, call me oba-chan."

Oikawa Shouko blinked in confusion. "But otou-san says that oba-chan is for old ladies!"

Kiyoko snickered. "Did he, now? Still, I'm married and a mother, so oba-chan would be more appropriate, Sho-chan."

"Oh. Okay, oba-chan!"

Though Kiyoko knew that if she did not pound the information into the child's head, Shouko would likely end up calling her older sister again. But she was still young, and Kiyoko could let it slide (not to mention that it felt good being called older sister when she was thirty). She opened the door wider to allow Shouko inside, and the girl happily slid across the floor in her socks.

"Where's Iwa-chan?" Shouko asked innocently, staring up at Kiyoko.

The woman couldn't help but snort in amusement at the nickname.  _Like father like daughter._ "Upstairs in his study room. He'll be down soon enough when he hears all the noise you're making."

"And Kagami-chan?"

"In her room," Kiyoko informed her, remembering seeing her ten year old adopted daughter leave the sanctuary of her room for a bathroom break. She would have been back in he room by now.

"Okay, thanks onee-chan!"

Kiyoko shook her head fondly at the slip of the tongue as she watched Shouko dash upstairs to meet Kagami.

As she ran down the corridor, she screeched to a halt, having seen Iwaizumi Hajime's head of spiked up hair in another room. "Hi, Iwa-chan!"

"Ah, Sho-chan." Iwaizumi turned in his chair to smile at her before deadpanning. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me oji-san or Iwaizumi-san?"

Shouko grinned mischievously. "My otou-san tells me to call you Iwa-chan!"

Iwaizumi sighed. "Of course he did. Not even Naoko can break that habit." He muttered the last bit to himself. "If you're looking for Kagami, she's in her room."

"I know! Onee-chan told me the same thing."

"Onee-chan—?" Iwaizumi smirked. "Right, of course she did."  _She's like a girl version of Tooru. Thank god she has Naoko's genes as well._

Iwaizumi turned back to his computer and Shouko wandered down the corridor, passing the bathroom, before reaching the always opened door of her friend, Kagami.

"Hi, Kagami-chan! I'm here!" She walked into Kagami's room to find the black-haired girl sitting on her bed with her sketchbook, tapping her chin with her pencil and frowning in deep concentration.

"Oh!" Kagami snapped out of her stupor, closed her book, and smiled at the younger girl. Despite being adopted, Kagami was the spitting image of Kiyoko in her youth, glasses, loose, low hanging pigtails and all. Her eyes were a warm brown. "Hello, Sho-chan. You're up early today."

Shouko nodded before flopping on Kagami's bed, prying the sketchbook from the older girl's hands and opening it up. Her eyes widened at all the beautiful pencil drawings Kagami had illustrated in the pages. "Kagami-chan is so good at drawing!" she praised, stars in her eyes as she looked up at Kagami.

The girl laughed and blushed modestly. "I practice a lot, I guess. Do you like to draw, Sho-chan?"

Again, the little girl nodded, this time more vigorously than ever. "I do! In fact, I'm the master of drawing!" she bragged.

Kagami giggled. "I'm sure you are." Then she sighed, "Lately, I haven't had inspiration to draw anything. Maybe I should..." Her eyes lit up as she thought of something. "That's it! Why didn't I think of this earlier?"

"Think of what?" asked Shouko, bewildered at her outburst.

"I should go out and take my sketchbook with me. Nature has lots of inspiration."

"Oh, oh! Like the lake! My okaa-chan loves the lake! We should go, Kagami-chan!"

There was a soft knock on the door and Kiyoko entered, "Breakfast is ready, girls. If you two are going down to the lake, you'd better eat first."

"Okay, onee-chan!"

"Yes, okaa-chan."

Shouko grew excited when they entered the kitchen downstairs, seeing the four plates of eggs and toast on the table. Iwaizumi was already sitting down, reading the daily newspaper that he had collected from outside.

"Eggs and toast?" gasped Shouko when they sat down.

"Eh?" Kagami gave her seat neighbor a sideways glance. "We have this pretty much every morning."

"More or less," Iwaizumi added, looking up from his newspaper. "What's wrong, Sho-chan?"

"We never have eggs and toast at our house," Shouko declared vehemently, looking uncharacteristically serious (which, in the eyes of Iwaizumi and Kiyoko, made her look even more adorable and childish).

"Then what do you have?" Kiyoko asked, genuinely curious.

"Rice," Shouko said, more solemn than ever. "I mean,  _sometimes_ we have eggs and toast or something like that. But the rest of time it's rice. It goes like this: rice, rice, rice, rice, rice, rice, rice," she paused, "eggs and toast. Rice, rice rice, rice—"

"We get it, Sho-chan," Iwaizumi interrupted, sounding amused. Had he not cut in, she would have likely kept going for a good half an hour.

"Oh, really?" Kagami said, her interest piqued. "In our house it's the other way round. Eggs and toast, eggs and toast, eggs and toast, eggs and toast," Kagami paused as well, "rice."

"Uwaah! That's so cool!"

"Eh? Not really, it's pretty much the same as yours, just reversed."

Once breakfast was over and done with, Kagami went up back to her room to pack her sketchbook and pencils into her backpack before returning downstairs to find Shouko impatiently waiting for her.

"Come on, Kagami-chan, I want to go to the lake!"

"Hold on a sec, Sho-chan," Iwaizumi said, having been on his way back upstairs to work on his computer, "does your mom or dad know that you're going out?"

Shouko bit her lip, knowing better to lie to Iwaizumi, "No..."

"You know the drill then," Iwaizumi replied before heading upstairs.

"Don't worry, Sho-chan, I'll come with you," Kagami offered, taking the little girl by the hand and leading her outside. After Shouko put on her shoes, the girls made the short travel over to Shouko's house, where Kagami easily unlocked the gate thanks to her taller height.

"Kagami-chan is too tall," Shouko complained with a pout, her eyebrows knitting together in jealousy.

"Don't worry, you'll grow taller too," Kagami said in order to appease the disgruntled girl. She rang the doorbell of the Oikawa household, where Oikawa Tooru answered the door, eyes lighting up behind the frames of his glasses when he saw the girls. He didn't look a day over twenty five, despite the fact that he was thirty.

"Sho-chan, there you are!" Oikawa exclaimed. "Bothering the neighbors again? And good morning, Kagami-chan."

"Good morning, Oikawa-san," Kagami politely returned, dipping her head slightly. "Can Sho-chan and I go to the lake to draw?"

"Please, otou-san!" Shouko added, giving her father the puppy eyes.

Oikawa cringed as he felt his heart explode from the cuteness his daughter was displaying.  _This is what happens when two beautiful people have a kid!_ He breathed out a sigh and sweatdropped. "You can go, Sho-chan," he allowed, his lips quirking upward in a sincere smile. "Just be back for lunch, okay?"

"Okay!" Shouko leaped forward and hugged Oikawa's legs. "Thank you, otou-san."

"Ack! You're getting heavier, squirt. Nearly knocked me over there."

"Did I get any taller?" Shouko demanded.

Oikawa laughed before ruffling her hair. "You know what, I think you have." He picked her up and hugged her tightly before letting her down. "If you can help it, don't fall in the lake." He shivered at the thought of Naoko finding out that their daughter had ruined her clothes and endangered her life trying to chase a duckling or something.

"I won't. I'll be extra careful," his daughter promised. "Also, can we have eggs and toast for dinner tonight?"

"Eh?" Oikawa blinked, bewildered. "Why so suddenly...?"  _Ehh?! Who eats eggs and toast for dinner anyway?!_

"I don't want rice."

"And we had eggs and toast for breakfast," Kagami piped up. "So I guess Sho-chan wants to eat another helping."

 _Ah, of course. Sheesh, I'll have to thank Iwa-chan later for feeding her._ He sweatdropped again.  _What's wrong with my cooking...?_ Since Naoko wasn't usually up so early in the morning, Oikawa was the one who cooked breakfast for himself and Shouko. "Tell you what, we can eat out tonight," he promised, knowing that Naoko was always up for eating out now that they were both bringing in a steady income. Oikawa from his work as a lawyer and Naoko from her job as a department head at a hospital in Sendai.  _Mako-chan's been craving her favorite Hamburg steak anyway._

Shouko gladly accepted the idea with a smile and the two girls headed on their way just before Naoko showed up behind Oikawa.

"Was that Shouko?" she asked, still bleary eyed.  _She probably bled Kiyoko's cupboard dry again..._

"Mmhm." Oikawa kissed her forehead lightly and she mumbled something before melting into his touch. "She went off with Kagami-chan to the lake."

"Oh, okay... is there anymore coffee left? And not the cheap watery shit."

"I think there's enough to make a cup."

"Great." Naoko yawned. "You were particularly rough last night."

"Oh?" Oikawa smirked, his eyes flashing. "And here I thought that you liked it that way, Mako-chan."

"The soreness does feel somewhat refreshing in the morning," she answered, seeming more awake.

He snorted. "You've always been a masochist."

* * *

When the lake in the park came into view, Shouko cried out and ran down the grassy slope, Kagami chasing after her.

"Hold on a sec, Sho-chan, not so fast!"

"The ocean!" Shouko declared, stopping in front of the waters.

"Eh?! That's not the ocean!" Kagami sweatdropped at Shouko's apparent ignorance.

But Shouko only laughed. "I know, I'm just playing pretend."  _Kagami-chan can be so silly sometimes!_

The pair soon found a shady spot under a tree, where they had a good view of the vast lake. Bubbles spurted from the surface of the water, the only sign that there were fish in the lake. There were a few ducks swimming about as well in the summer heat, obviously enjoying the warmth. Kagami tore a page from her notebook and passed it to Shouko, who accepted it gratefully. The paper was thin, but Shouko managed by placing it on her thighs. Kagami then gave her a pencil to draw with, and Shouko found that the tip of the pencil tickled the skin of her legs every time she pressed it down on the paper.

Kagami began to draw, only listening to Shouko hum with one ear. The tree on the other side of the lake was lovely and Kagami felt herself wanting to replicate it as best she could. She started off with the top leaves, slowly making her way down.

Meanwhile, Shouko busied herself trying to accurately copy the lone duck that was paddling the water near the shore of the lake, where all the reeds were.  _Let's see... head goes here, beak goes there... add some scribbles for feathers!_

"Hey, guys!"

Kagami and Shouko both turned their heads to the right, where a young woman wearing a tee and shorts was approaching them. Instantly, Shouko perked up.

"Oba-chan!" Shouko all but shouted, abandoning her duck drawing to run up to the woman and hug her waist (because she was short enough for Shouko to reach that far up).

But Shouko was met with an unpleasant surprise when the woman pinched her cheeks and mock glared at her.

"Oi, I'm not that old!"

Shouko squealed before laughing. "Sorry, sorry!"

"Say, Sumire-nee-chan, brat!" Sumire demanded, grinning.

"Old lady!"

Sumire gasped, letting go of her niece and placing one hand over her heart. "I'm hurt!" Tears comically poured down her face. "Wuuu... my niece doesn't love me...!"

Shouko stuck her tongue out at her, and Sumire rolled her eyes. "Geez, you shouldn't be so rude to your aunt."

"So you admit that you're old!" Shouko said gleefully.

"Hey! Aunts can still be young and beautiful like me!"

"Kaa-chan is prettier than you."

The words all but stabbed Sumire through the chest. "... Ouch." But she soon recovered and followed Shouko back to where Kagami was. The Iwaizumi girl greeted her informally and Sumire sat beside Shouko, so that the youngest girl was sitting sandwiched between them.

Sumire caught a glimpse of Kagami's drawing. She let out a low whistle, impressed. "Wow, Kagami-chan, you're so good at drawing."

"Oh, thanks, onee-chan," Kagami graciously accepted the compliment, a small blush decorating her cheeks.

"I, for one, absolutely suck at anything drawing related," Sumire declared unashamedly, leaning back against the tree trunk with her arms behind her head.

"What about me?" Shouko asked. "I'm great at drawing! Look!" Proudly, she showed them her sketch of the duck on the lake.

The drawing looked nothing like the fowl; the head and body were totally misshapen and the beak looked like a banana. The scribbles she had added to represent the feathers made the duck look more like a cat having a bad hair day on top of being electrocuted.

"Wow, it looks great, Sho-chan!" Kagami praised, smiling at the girl.

Shouko grinned, pleased.

"What is that supposed to be?" Sumire asked tactlessly.

Shouko looked at her drawing, as if she needed some kind of visual confirmation, before saying, "It's that duck over there!" She pointed toward the lake at the lone duck, which had its butt up in the air as he submerged its head to look for food.

"That looks nothing like a duck," Sumire commented.

Shouko's smile faltered and Kagami immediately began to panic. "Does that mean... it's bad?" Shouko asked, her eyes growing sad.

"N-no!" Kagami protested, "It's good!"

"Oh, yeah, it's bad," Sumire confirmed at the same time. "It's pretty ugly."

Like a cash register dinging out, Kagami's jaw dropped in disbelief at Sumire's tactlessness.

"No, don't listen to her, it's good!" Kagami said frantically.

"Huh...?" Shouko looked over to her. "Then why is Sumire-nee saying it's bad?"

"Because it is!" exclaimed Sumire, still unable to get a clue of Shouko's oncoming tantrum.

Shouko's bottom lip began to wobble and tears filled her large brown eyes. Sumire flinched.

 _Aw crud,_ Sumire thought, inwardly berating herself.

"It's good!" Kagami kept on insisting, growing more frantic, "Sumire-nee is only saying that it's bad because she's bad at art! Oop!" Guilty, she clapped her hands over her mouth, dropping her pencil in her lap.

"Eh?!" Sumire cried before hanging her head in shame.

"I'm sorry...!" Kagami moaned, lowering her own head.

Shouko glanced between the two of them before hanging her head as well, breathing out a sigh as a heavy gloom settled over the three.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?"

"He's taller than he looks on TV..."

"More handsome too!"

In her peripheral vision, Sumire noticed none other than Ushijima Wakatoshi approaching them from the left, his hands in his pockets. He was unsmiling, but that was a norm for the volleyball star.

"Ushiwaka," Sumire greeted. Ushijima was a friend of hers thanks to Kageyama; they played in the same team during their university days.

"Good morning, Kageyama-chan," he returned, looking over the three sitting females.

"Waka-san!" Shouko cried, her gloom temporarily lifting. She knew of him due to her father's connections. Despite their rivalry during high school, Oikawa and Ushijima had gotten closer in the past few years, and the latter sometimes dropped by the Oikawa household for a friendly visit.

"Ushijima-san," Kagami said, also used to his presence because her father was in a similar situation with Oikawa.

He returned their greetings as well, and Shouko chose to show him her duck drawing, still confused whether it was good or bad since she had gotten two clashing opinions from Sumire and Kagami.

Ushijima took the paper and scrutinized it, his face never changing as he took in every detail.

Knowing how blunt he could be, Sumire and Kagami both prayed that he would compliment Shouko's skill—or lack of thereof but that wasn't the point.

Unknowingly, Sumire and Kagami were also sending desperate glares toward Ushijima as they both thought of the same thing.

 _PLEASE SAY IT'S GOOD, PLEASE SAY IT'S GOOD, PLEASE SAY IT'S GOOD_ —

Ushijima handed the paper back to Shouko. "It's good."

Sumire and Kagami both breathed a sigh of relief.  _Thank god...!_

Shouko beamed up at Ushijima. "Really? You think so?"

"Yes. You should be an artist, Sho-chan."

"See?" Kagami added for insurance. "I told you it was good!"

"Now that I get a really good look at it, it looks just like a duck," Sumire piped up, sweating nervously. "It's really, really good, Sho-chan!"  _May the gods forgive me for lying to this child...! I feel so dirty now._

"That's because I'm a drawing master!" Shouko boasted, the ego that she had inherited from her father now back to one hundred percent.

"I'm sure you are," Ushijima told her, all the while remaining rather toneless in his manner of speaking.

Then Shouko turned to Sumire and gave her the drawing. "Here."

"Huh?" Sumire could hardly bring herself to burn her eyes by looking at the literal ugly duck that would never be turning into a swan anytime soon. "Don't you want to keep it, Sho-chan?"

"No," Shouko said solemnly, "I think you need some art to brighten up your life."

"Hey, my life is plenty bright, thank you very much!" Sumire huffed, but kept the drawing anyway.  _I feel like I am being punished..._

* * *

"What the hell is that thing?" Kageyama asked incredulously as he spied Shouko's duck drawing pinned in the fridge door with a magnet in their studio apartment.

Sumire, who was reading a book on the couch, her electric violin by her side, looked up from her book to glare at her husband. "Shut up, stick, it's good!"

Kageyama stared at her in open disbelief, "Are you kidding? It's looks like a scribble with a banana sticking out of it. Twig," he added as an afterthought.

"I said it's good, dammit!"

* * *

Come next Friday afternoon and Oikawa was found sitting on the couch, boredom creeping up on him as he watched the news. He had finished all of his work and there was nothing much to do. He could have visited Iwaizumi next door, but he had gone to his work office.

Naoko wasn't home yet and Shouko was taking an afternoon nap in her room. If he listened hard enough, Oikawa could hear his daughter snoring loudly from all the way upstairs.

At long last, he got up from the couch and went to his daughter's room, finding her fast asleep. Not that he had expected anything else. Sighing at her odd sleeping position, he set her down properly on her big queen-sized bed and lay next to her, feeling drowsy thanks to his chronic boredom.

Within minutes, he was asleep. Deeply, at that.

It was then Shouko decided to wake up from her nap, sitting up and stretching, pausing when she felt her limbs nudge something solid. She turned her head to see her father asleep by her side, lying on his back.

 _Eh? Otou-san? I guess he must be sleepy too._ She clambered off the bed and pulled out her box of toys, playing for a bit before getting bored.

Shouko moved onto her drawing markers. Since she had proclaimed herself to be a master of drawing, she liked to practice her drawings using pencils, crayons, and her only magic marker.

Her magic marker was her favorite drawing utensil and she used it sparingly, fearing that it would run out.

Shouko took out her notebook and started scribbling indescribable pictures on it, humming gleefully under her breath. She was about to move on to her magic marker when she found out that she had run out of pages. Disappointed, she shoved her notebook aside and looked around the room. If she drew on the walls, her mother would get incredibly upset.

Her eyes landed on Oikawa's sleeping form and a mischievous idea came into her mind. Quietly, she got up to her feet and stalked to the bed, climbing onto the mattress with her magic marker still in her hand.

There was a squeaky pop when Shouko removed the cap but Oikawa didn't even stir, far away in dreamland.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, Shouko begun to express her creativity on his face. He slept without his glasses on, so she was able to draw circles around his eyes. She traced a spiral on his cheeks and connected his eyebrows with her magic marker ink. She also gave him a beard on his chin and some premature forehead wrinkles. Then she sat back and observed her work, pleased.

Until the consequences of her actions crashed down on her like a tidal wave.

 _Gaaah!_ she shouted in her head.  _What do I do?! How do I get it off?!_

Slowly, she got off the bed and slowly backed away from the still sleeping Oikawa to the door. Then she sped off, hurrying down the corridor and downstairs. She put on her shoes hastily and jumped to unlock the gate, not caring when her skin stung from being caught between the catch and lever.

She unlocked Iwaizumi's front gate and knocked on the door, toeing her shoes off as she did so.

Kiyoko answered the door. "Hu? Sho-chan, hello. Come in."

"Hi, Kiyoko-san, where's Kagami-chan?" Shouko inquired hurriedly.

"Watching television in the living room."

"Okay, thanks!"

"KAGAMI-CHAN!" Shouko shouted as she entered the living room, causin the girl to startle. Kagami had been in the middle of watching a documentary about tigers.

"Eep! Sho-chan, you scared me!" Kagami exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart.

"Kagami-chan," Shouko ploughed on, "what's the best way to remove magic marker again?"

"What did you draw it on?"

"Otou-san's face."

Kagami stared at the younger girl, sweatdropping. "Uhh... okay." She hummed thoughtfully, tapping her chin.  _What was it again? I think it was an animal product. Like egg? Oh!_ "Mayonnaise," Kagami told Shouko confidently. "I remember the TV show saying it was mayo."

"Yosh! Thanks, Kagami-chan!" With that, Shouko ran off back to her own house. Kagami smiled, feeling proud of herself that she had helped out the younger girl.

Kiyoko sat down next to her daughter, giving her a sideways questioning look. "Wasn't it butter...?"

Kagami, who had been about to unpause her documentary, halted her finger's journey to the play button. "... Was it?"

Kiyoko nodded.

"... Oh," was all Kagami could come up with.

* * *

Shouko silently despaired over the sight of her father with his face covered in mayonnaise and magic marker. She had squirted the egg based dressing all over his face and rubbed it in, but the ink still wasn't coming off.

_Why. Won't. It. Come. Off._

There was only one thing to do now.

Shouko washed her hands in the bathroom before returning to her bed. Then she set her head on Oikawa's abdomen and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Iwaizumi openly stared at Oikawa as they ran into each other in the grocery shop. Iwaizumi had been on his way home and decided to buy some groceries while Oikawa was picking up ingredients for tonight's curry dinner.

"Oh, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa greeted happily as he put the curry mix into his basket.

Iwaizumi continued to stare.

"Sheesh, Iwa-chan, if you're interested, you should have said so before I got married," Oikawa teased.

"... Have you checked the mirror lately?"

Oikawa pouted at him. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? A simple 'no' would have sufficed."

"I didn't mean it like that!" huffed Iwaizumi. "Just... gah." He snickered. "Never mind."

"Eh? Do I have something in my teeth or something?"

Iwaizumi couldn't hold it in anymore; he guffawed loudly, shakily placing some minced garlic into his own basket.

"Iwa-chan, stop being mean!"

Feeling a little sorry for his oblivious best friend, Iwaizumi gave him his phone. "Use the reverse camera."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow at him but did as he told him. Iwaizumi could literally see the blood seeping from his face as he finally clued in.

"... So this is why everyone was looking at me on the street? I thought they were just admiring my obvious good looks and charm."

Iwaizumi snorted.

* * *

"Tooru?" Naoko said as Oikawa entered their bedroom. She was completely naked, having just come out of the shower. "What happened to your face?"

"Sho-chan," Oikawa grumbled before going into the bathroom to scrub off the mayonnaise and magic marker stains.

Naoko had to rein in a laugh as she slipped into her nightgown, one that skimmed her thighs. "She takes after you!" she called to him.

"Don't be mean, oyster-chan, you helped make her!"

This time, Naoko did laugh.

"You sound like a deranged hyena!" Oikawa shouted from the bathroom before turning on the shower.

"So I've been told," she replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Dumb chihuahua. I can't believe you actually went out like that..."

"I can still hear you, Mako-chan! Stop bullying your husband!"

"Stop yapping and then maybe we can come to a compromise."

The bathroom door opened again and Oikawa reappeared, dressed in a cotton white shirt and comfortable shorts.

"If it makes you feel better, you look much better without all that gunk on your face," Naoko told him, smirking.

"Oh, I know that," Oikawa answered, grabbing her by the waist and pushing her onto the bed, kissing her neck. "I've missed you," he murmured into her hot skin, taking in her familiar scent.

"... Me too."

 


	2. Pool Day

_Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child's eye - it is very beautiful._

—  _Kailash Satyarthi_

* * *

Kagami sighed as she fanned herself with one of the souvenir fans that Kiyoko had brought home from Osaka, entering the kitchen and greeting her parents. Her hair, tied up in a ponytail today, still somehow stuck to the back of her neck. Her glasses felt sticky on the bridge of her nose and there was far too much sweat between her armpits, the back of her knees, and the insides of her elbows. It was about a week into summer vacation and she had done nothing but sweat during those seven days.

"What's wrong, Kagami?" Iwaizumi asked, sitting back in his chair. He was wearing a white singlet that hung on his frame slightly and tan shorts.

"It's so hot," Kagami complained, "can't we turn the air conditioning on?"

Iwaizumi chuckled. "Sorry, but no can do, kiddo. You know we only turn it on when it gets  _really_  hot."

Kagami gave him a puzzled look. "But it  _is_  really hot!"

"Do you think you're going to faint anytime soon?"

"Well, no—"

"Then you'll survive."

"Otou-saaan!" Kagami grumbled.

"Hajime, why don't we go down to the pool today?" Kiyoko suggested. She was nearly done with washing the dishes at the sink. "Kagami's right; it's stewing in here."

"Oh, can we?" Kagami looked to her father eagerly.

Iwaizumi hummed in thought.  _We haven't had a family outing in ages... and it is pretty stuffy in here._ "Why not? The pool sounds pretty good." It would be nice to relax at the public pool with his wife and daughter. Sure, there would be noise, but that wouldn't make much of a difference—

Iwaizumi blinked when he saw Kiyoko take Kagami by the hand and lead her to the front door. "Where are you going?" he called after them.

"To invite Naachan to the pool," Kiyoko replied over her shoulder, smiling a tad deviously at her husband.

"And Sho-chan!" Kagami added, also grinning. "She loves swimming."

Iwaizumi sweatdropped. "Does that mean... Oikawa's coming too?"  _Spec-fucking-tacular._

"Most likely," Kiyoko said, "You know how much he loves spending time with us."

_Right,_ Iwaizumi thought sardonically, though he didn't  _really_  mind Oikawa'a presence, he had been hoping that it would have been a day for just the three of them to enjoy.

* * *

"Kiyoko." Oikawa, wearing nothing but an unbuttoned Hawaiian print shirt that exposed his front and a pair of boardshorts, grinned at his best friend's wife. "How kind of you to invite us! I'm sure Iwa-chan is excited as I am, right?" He winked at Iwaizumi, who merely sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm jumping with joy over here," Iwaizumi said snidely. He was wearing something similar to Oikawa, except he had a white singlet underneath his outer garment.

"It wouldn't be as exciting without you and your family here," Kiyoko responded politely, smiling. "And Kagami always likes it when Sho-chan tags along."

Naoko, sunglasses on her head and wearing a tank top and shorts, turned to where the children were talking, Shouko throwing her arms up in the air in excitement as Kagami laughed. "It worries me a bit actually. How they're so co-dependent."

"Oh, I wouldn't say co-dependent," Oikawa said, "You know, you and Tadashi were like that once."

"That's what I'm worried about. I don't want them to be like Tadashi and I."

Iwaizumi started up the car, Oikawa sitting in the front passenger seat and their wives and kids sitting at the back. Thankfully, Shouko and Kagami were both small enough to be squeezed between Naoko and Kiyoko in the middle seat.

"Hey, Iwa-chan," Oikawa suddenly piped up, examining Iwaizumi's forehead. "I think your hairline's receding."

"Wh-what?" Iwaizumi halted at a traffic light and glared at Oikawa. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Language," Kiyoko reprimanded from the back.

"What the  _heck_ are you talking about?" Iwaizumi amended before turning back to face the front, where the light had turned green. "My hairline's been the same since junior high!"

"Oho~ Why so defensive, Iwa-chan?"

"Shut up, Bakawa!"

"I'm serious, Iwa-chan, I think it's definitely receding!"

Naoko huffed out a sigh. "Tooru, stop that. You should probably check your own hairline first before commenting on Hajime's."

Kiyoko smiled, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Now that I think about it, I think Naachan might be onto something." The two women exchanged a glance, mischief in their eyes as a single thought ran through their minds:  _Let's mindfuck with him a bit._

Oikawa looked mildly worried at first, passing his hand through his hair before sighing in relief and smirking. "Nice try, you two, but my hairline hasn't changed a bit."

"Otou-san!" Shouko suddenly piped. "I think okaa-chan is right about your hairline!"

"Ehh?! H-how would you know, Sho-chan?" Oikawa definitely looked more worried than ever now, pushing his hair back and feeling for his hairline.

Iwaizumi snickered. "Oh, how the tables have turned... Serves you right, Trashykawa. Or should I call you Old Man?"

"Remember when I accidentally drew on your face and squeezed mayo to try and get the marker off?" Shouko reminded Oikawa and just about everyone else in the car.

"That was no accident!" cried Oikawa, turning back and pouting at his daughter. "Sheesh, I should have grounded you for longer."

Kagami blushed. "Sorry, Sho-chan, it was actually butter..."

"That's okay, Kagami-chan! Anyway, otou-san, I had to push your hair up a lot to get the mayo on your forehead. Maybe I accidentally pushed back your hairline."

Oikawa immediately panicked. "Can you do that?!"

"Oh, yes," Naoko chimed in, smirking, "Why do you think Tadashi has the same problem as you? His husband keeps pushing his hair back."

"I think I might have spotted a bald patch on your crown," Kiyoko added, tapping her chin contemplatively for extra effect. "Do you want me to lend you some of my hair products? You might have a chance to stop your premature balding that way."

Iwaizumi guffawed just as he found a parking space, expertly reverse parking into the spot. "You sure you want to go swimming?" he asked Oikawa, who was busy trying to check his hairline in the rear view mirror. "The chlorine might cause you to bald even faster."

Everyone got out of the car except Oikawa, who was now trying to examine the back of his head to search for that bald spot Kiyoko had so kindly pointed out.

Rolling her eyes, Naoko opened the door and grabbed her husband by the arm, pulling him out. "Idiot. You're not  _actually_ balding so get out here."

Oikawa glared at Kiyoko and Iwaizumi, who were both grinning at him in the most obnoxious way possible. "Why is everyone so mean? I would have lost sleep for days."

"Because you deserved it," Naoko told him, crossing her arms. "Dumb chihuahua."

Inside the pool building, Kagami and Shouko immediately ran to the edge of the pool, the latter with sparkles in her eyes as she watched the water splash at their toes. Naoko and Kiyoko went to the female changing room to take of their outer garments in favor of their swimsuits, leaving Iwaizumi and Oikawa to supervise the kids. Kagami had taken off her glasses and given it to Kiyoko for safekeeping.

"Otou-san, throw me in!" Shouko pleaded, tugging at the hem of Oikawa's boardshorts.

"Sure thing, kiddo." He picked up Shouko by the arms and flung her into the middle of the pool, where she landed with a giggle and a loud splash, sending waves of water to nearby pool-goers.

"Gwah!" Iwaizumi stared at his best friend in disbelief. "What kind of person decided to let you become a parent?!"

"I'm a perfectly good parent, thank you very much," Oikawa huffed, sulking at him. "Come back here, Sho-chan!"

Shouko gave him a thumbs up from her place in the pool and swam back to the edge, expertly kicking her legs and wheeling her arms to get back.

"Wow, Sho-chan, you're so good at swimming," Kagami said in awe as the younger girl heaved herself up and sat next to Kagami, the two of them lazily splashing their legs in the pool.

"Okaa-chan says I'm like a fish!" Shouko boasted, her short brown hair bouncing slightly as she tried to shake the water from it. "That's how you swim, you see. In order to swim like a fish, you have to think like a fish!"

"Eh?" Kagami blinked at her, confused.  _How do you think like a fish...? What do fish even think of?_ "I swim pretty okay as well but I don't think like a fish."

Unwilling to be outdone, Iwaizumi picked up Kagami with little effort.

"Otou-san?" Kagami sweatdropped. "Are you going to throw me in the pool too?"

"You don't mind, do you?" Iwaizumi said apologetically.

"Umm, no—"

"Great!" Heaving, Iwaizumi tossed her into the pool in a similar fashion to Oikawa with Shouko.

"WAAUGH!" Kagami screamed as she flew high into the air, Iwaizumi having thrown her much harder than Shouko had been thrown.

"Iwa-chan, that's abuse!" Oikawa gasped, shocked at his best friend's actions but inwardly laughing.

"Wait, so it's not abuse when  _you_ do it?!" Iwaizumi shouted at Oikawa. "How does that work?!"

Kagami landed with a huge splash just as Kiyoko and Naoko, both now wearing bikinis, joined the men in their daughter-throwing competition, both looking unimpressed.

"Are you two done with your dick-measuring contest?" Naoko deadpanned, casually covering Shouko's ears as she said the words, as if she had done so many times.

Kiyoko was frowning at Iwaizumi, who looked decidedly sheepish. "Did I just see you throw our daughter into the pool like a frisbee?"

"In Iwa-chan's defense, it was more like throwing a shotput," Oikawa supplied unhelpfully.

"Sorry," Iwaizumi apologized to his wife. "I didn't mean to throw her in so hard."

Kagami, looking frazzled, eventually made her way back to her family and friends. "Otou-san..." she griped, her eyes practically dizzy circles. "Please don't do that again..."

Iwaizumi, hastily apologizing, hauled his daughter out of the pool and held her close, Kiyoko wrapping a towel around her.

"Do that again and you're dead," Naoko conversationally told Oikawa as she gently nudged Shouko into the pool.

"Erk!" Oikawa straightened. "Sorry."

Shouko laughed. "Haha, okaa-chan always wants to kill otou-san!"

Iwaizumi sweatdropped. "Hey, Sho-chan, don't say that in public so loudly."  _People might get the wrong idea..._

Thankfully, Shouko agreed to his suggestion and the four adults and two children spent their time having fun in the water, sliding down water slides and splashing each other with the clear aqua.

"I'm going to buy us a snack," Kiyoko announced as they all relaxed at one side of the pool, watching in amusement as Shouko attempted to teach Kagami how to swim by thinking like a fish.

"Hey!" Shouko suddenly shouted when Kiyoko left, snapping the remaining three adults to attention. "All of you, pay attention, Shouko's Swim Class starts now!"

"Oh?" Oikawa changed his position so that he could place his feet at the bottom of the pool, the water going up to his neck. "And what's our first lesson, Shouko-sensei?" he teased.

"The first fundamental principal of Shouko's Swim Class," Shouko declared, looking proud of herself for squeezing in two big words that her mother and father had taught her, "is that to swim like a fish, you must first think like a fish!"

"How do you think like a fish?" Iwaizumi inquired, amused that a girl just shy of turning five was giving them swimming lessons.

"That's what I want to know," Kagami added, still confused at Shouko's explanation.  _No, seriously! What do fish even think of?!_ As she contemplated this, one thought led to another and she suddenly envisioned a carton of milk spilling on the table.

"Like this!" Shouko demonstrated by puffing out her cheeks and puckering her lips in an attempt to resemble a fish. Then she grabbed on to the edge of the pool and started kicking, thinking fish thoughts. "Bloop. Bloop. Bloop."

"I... see," Iwaizumi said, having expected as much from her.

"Come on, do it! Follow my lead!" Shouko demanded. "Bloop. Bloop. Bloop. Bloop."

"Uhh, like this?" Clumsily, Kagami tried to copy that the younger girl was doing, blushing. "Um, bloop?"

"Otou-san and Iwa-chan have to do it as well! So do you, okaa-chan!"

"I have to go to the bathroom," Naoko suddenly announced, getting out of the pool, the water dripping down her toned legs. "Good luck, guys. Think like a fish, remember?"  _I'm more worried about Kiyoko, honestly. She's taking a long time..._ Her stomach grumbled.  _And I'm hungry..._

"Naachan, how could you?" Oikawa cried after her before turning to Iwaizumi. "Iwa-chan, you probably have no trouble thinking like a fish."

Iwaizumi shoved his head underwater before letting him surface. "Are you fish enough yet?"

"Mean, Iwa-chan!"

Shouko slapped the water impatiently with one hand, pouting at Iwaizumi and Oikawa. "Hurry up, you two, or I'll have to give you a failing grade! You should be following Kagami-chan's example!"

"Eh?!" Kagami cringed when all the attention was suddenly on her. "I mean, bloop..."

"Well, we can't let Sho-sensei down, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa said cheerfully before copying Kagami and Shouko. "Bloop. Bloop."

Iwaizumi stared at him, in awe of the ridiculous sight that was Oikawa Tooru, former high school womanizer and flirt, trying to think like a fish.  _H-he's seriously doing it...!_ Grimacing, he got into position and started doing what the rest were doing, blushing furiously. "Bloop. Bloop. Bloop."

Meanwhile, Naoko wandered around the snack area, searching for Kiyoko with a small frown on her face.  _Where did she go?_ She looked to the ladies' bathroom.  _Maybe she's constipated?_ Naoko headed toward the bathroom and was about to enter when Kiyoko's voice wafted through the air.

"Please leave me alone. I'm married with a child."

Instantly, Naoko was on alert, stalking toward where Kiyoko's voice had come from. She turned around a corner to see her bosom buddy backed up against the cinder block wall by three guys.

"Aw, come on, baby, you can't mean that," one of the men purred, his eyes straying down to her fingers. "Where's your ring?"

"I took it off to swim," Kiyoko told him, keeping calm despite the situation. It wasn't the first time she had had to deal with something like this.

"I don't believe you," said one of the other men, leaning in close to her face. "Maybe a kiss will change your mind..."

Kiyoko tried to push him away but he was too strong for her. "Please, stop...!"

"Oi." Naoko glared at them with a cold fury as they turned around to face her. With her height of five foot four and wearing nothing but a two-piece swimsuit, she was well aware that she didn't look like she posed the biggest threat.

"Well,  _hello_ ," the guy that had been about to kiss Kiyoko purred, hungrily eyeing her breasts, which was stretching the fabric of her chest piece. "You've got even bigger ones than Glasses-chan here..."

Naoko stood still, letting him approach her and tower over her. "Leave her alone and get lost."

"Oh?" The other two guys laughed, forgetting about Kiyoko for a moment and allowing the girl to slip away to the side, watching Naoko deal with the men. She was well aware that Naoko was able to deal with them without even breaking a sweat. Kiyoko smiled to herself, eager to see her harassers get put in their place. "And what are you going to do about it?"

It was over far too quickly, really.

Kiyoko and Naoko walked back to the pool in five minutes, leaving the three men in a heap, their faces bruised and some teeth missing. The chips that Kiyoko had bought for all of them were still safely in her hands.

"Thank you, Naachan," Kiyoko said gratefully, opening the box of chips. "Want one?"

"You don't even have to ask." Naoko gladly took a chip, blew on it to chase away the heat, and popped it in her mouth.

"Oh, there you are!" Oikawa perked up when he saw the two women return.  _Now they can suffer like Iwa-chan and I!_ "I think Sho-chan wants you to join her class," he said deviously.

"Swim like a fish! Think like a fish!" Shouko was instructing poor Kagami, who was frantically trying to correct her form. Iwaizumi had thankfully been forgotten by the girl, his feet planted at the bottom of the pool.

"I don't think so," Kiyoko said, opening up the box of large chips. "Sho-chan, Kagami, lunch is ready."

"Ooh, yummy!" Shouko instantly forgot about her swimming classes as she and Kagami graciously took a handful of chips. "Thanks a bunch, onee-chan!"

Iwaizumi and Kiyoko talked as they watched the girls eat while Oikawa glared at his wife.

"What?" Naoko asked innocently, sitting down at the edge of the pool with her legs in the water. She knew what he had been trying to do.

"I'm going to ravage you tonight," he promised, still glaring.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

_Man... I'm so bored._ The girl sighed to herself and passed her hand through her short grey hair, staring at the ceiling fan whirring above her. She was currently lying in her bed, having just finished some of her holiday homework. She was ten years old—the product of a one night stand that her father had had during his university days. Despite this and her mother passing her on to her father, her father loved her dearly and no less than a father would love his daughter that had not come from an unplanned pregnancy.

She lived with her father in an apartment in one of the more urban areas of Sendai, whereas her best friend—Iwaizumi Kagami—lived in a more suburban area.

"Haruhi!" her father called from somewhere else in the apartment, "Phone call for you! It's Kagami-chan!"

_Eh? Kagami?_ A smile lit up her face as she got off her bed and ran out of her room. In the living room, Bokuto Koutarou stood with the house phone in his hand. "Oh, she's here now," Bokuto said into the phone before passing it to Haruhi and heading to a different room to give his daughter some privacy.

"Thanks, otou-san," Haruhi said as she placed the phone by her ear. "Hello? Kagami-chan? What's up?"

_"Hi, Haru-chan! I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to my house? I have another friend over right now and I think you two should get introduced."_

"Oh, yeah?"

_"Uh huh. She moved in about two months ago and I realized that you've never met since she doesn't go to school with us."_

"Eh?! Is she some kind of delinquent?"

Kagami was quick to placate her worries.  _"No, no! That's not it. She's still four, you see."_

"Ohh... okay."  _Do I really want to hang out with a four year old?_ She shrugged to herself. "I'll be over in fifteen minutes."

_"Okay, see you soon!"_

"Well?" Bokuto said from the other room, popping his head out from the door frame.

"I'm going to Kagami's place," Haruhi informed her father, smiling.

"Okay, have fun! I was about to go out as well to play some volleyball with Wakatoshi."

* * *

_**A/N: It'll continue the next chapter. This story is a light-hearted kiddy (but also swearing and innuendos) kind of story.** _


	3. Haruhi and Cake

_No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted._

—  _Aesop_

* * *

"RAWR!" Shouko growled as she bowled over Kagami's teddy bears with her Godzilla toy. "The evil Teddy Torturer has been defeated!"

"Curse you, Lizard King!" Kagami said, making her voice hoarse and raspy to suit the character that she was playing. "My plan has been foiled once again!"

"Shall we retreat?" Shouko said, playing the part of a girl teddy bear subordinate.

"Yes, we shall!"

But Godzilla planted his feet in front of the female teddy bears. "Not so fast, Teddy Torturer, I won't allow you to... to..."

"Brainwash," Kagami whispered to her, breaking character for a brief moment to do so. "I think that's the word you're looking for."

Shouko perked up. "Yes, brainwash! I won't allow you to brainwash Arisa and Uroro!"

Kagami shook her head, frowning. "No, no, that's not her name! Her name's Ushio, not Uroro. Come on, Sho-chan, you've made this mistake a million times already. Say it after me: U-shee-oh." She drew out the name's syllables so that Shouko would be able to understand it better.

Shouko stared blankly at the toys. "Lizard King," she said, pointing at her own toy, then at the teddy bear wearing a top hat and donning a faux moustache, "Teddy Torturer..."

Kagami nodded encouragingly.  _Come on, Sho-chan, you can do this...!_

"... Arisa," Shouko continued, smiling confidently and patting the teddy bear in question on the head. She turned to the last bear. "And Uro—"

"No answer that begins with 'Uro' is acceptable!" Kagami shouted hotly. "Sheesh, Sho-chan... Okay, never mind then. Anyway, Sho-chan, I invited my friend from school over today."

"Uwaah, a friend from school? What's she like?" Shouko was offficially distracted, tossing the Godzilla figure to the side, where it would collect dust for the remainder of the afternoon.

"Well," Kagami began, "Her name is Bokuto Haruhi and she lives with her dad in urban Sendai, so not that far away. She's a bit tomboyish and adventurous as well. I think you'll like her."

"She sounds..." Shouko frowned in concentration. "... Like Superman."

Kagami sweatdropped. "Eh? Well, I wouldn't say Superman... For one, she doesn't wear her underwear outside of her pants." The image of a down to earth Haruhi wearing such a blasphemous thing made her giggle. "When she comes over, I want you to be polite to her, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"Sure! I'm doing to be extra nice! Like a waiter!"

"A waiter...?"

"Okaa-chan says that waiters are some of the most under... under appreciated people! They give you food and stuff but they don't get paid well!" Shouko declared vehemently, pointing an accusing finger at Kagami. "America is so cruel!"

"HAH?!" Kagami recoiled, bewildered. "What does America have to do with this?!"  _I swear, she says the most random things sometimes!_

"They contribute a lot to the pollution and stuff," Shouko said matter-of-factly.

"W-well, I guess..." Kagami leaned against her bed, idly playing with her teddy bear, Arisa. "Say, why don't we go downstairs for some lemonade?"

"Okay!" Shouko stood up, knocking over the Teddy Torturer. "I love lemonade!"

So the two girls headed downstairs, where Kiyoko was boiling some soup to accompany tonight's dinner. "Hey, you two," she greeted with a soft smile that reminded Kagami of gentle sunshine parting the clouds.

"Hey, okaa-chan," Kagami returned as she opened up the fridge, "Is it okay if me and Sho-chan drink some of the lemonade?" It was a warm day today and some cool lemonade would be much appreciated by the two young girls.

Kiyoko allowed it, and Shouko went up to where she was standing in front of the stove. The little girl tugged the woman's frilly shorts. "Onee-chan," she addressed improperly again, "do you have any sugar?"

"Hm? Why do you need sugar for?" Kiyoko inquired as Kagami poured the lemonade from the fridge into two glasses.

"The lemonade," Shouko told her, "because Kagami-chan has bad taste in drinks and always buys the bitter ones."

"H-how rude," sniffed Kagami, miffed at her comment.

Kiyoko smiled, amused. "She does have a point, Kagami, you have the taste buds of a ninety year old woman."

"Okaa-chan!"

Her mother tittered. "I'm sorry, Kagami, but it's true."

"Yeah, yeah..." Kagami grumbled. "But, Sho-chan, I bought the sweet kind this time. It's why I only filled up half my cup and why yours is full."

"Really?!" Shouko grabbed the cup from the counter and gulped it. "Wow, you're right...! Thanks, Kagami-chan, you're the best." She paused. "Saying 'Kagami-chan' is so long-winded."

"Maybe you should try calling me Kagami-sama," Kagami joked as she sipped her soda. "Even if it's longer."

"Why not Kagamin?" Kiyoko suggested, wiping her hands off with a towel. "I think that's a nice sounding alternative."

"Kagamin it is then!" Shouko decided, nodding and smiling up at Kagami, who laughed amiably. "Hey, Kagamin, when is Haruhi-chan coming over?"

"Soon," Kagami answered.

"Oh, is Haruhi-chan coming over?" Kiyoko said. "Hmm..." She spaced out a bit, staring into the window and outside.  _I've been craving sweets lately... which is odd because I normally prefer savory._

"She lives around twenty minutes away by bus," said Kagami, looking up at the clock on the kitchen wall. "So she should be here right about..." The doorbell rang and Kagami smiled. "Now. Now, remember, Sho-chan, be nice to her, okay?"

Shouko nodded in affirmation.

Haruhi was apparently familiar enough to let herself in, taking off her sneakers and leaving them outside. "Hi, I'm here!" she announced as Kagami swept by Shouko to greet her, the little girl following her, curious. "Kagami!" The Bokuto girl was wearing a volleyball jersey that hung on her frame and a pair of shorts.

"Haruhi! I haven't seen you in forever, how have you been?" Kagami asked, nudging her friend with her shoulder.

Haruhi grinned and swept her grey-silver bangs out of her eyes. "Oh, pretty great. Otou-san's been teaching me a bit of volleyball this summer. In fact, I brought a volleyball over to see if you wanted to play." Indeed, she was carrying a volleyball in her arms like it was a child. It was yellow and blue and looked like it had been used a lot in the past.

"Your dad plays volleyball?" Shouko suddenly piped up, eyes wide. "Mine does too! And so does Kagamin's."

"Oh, hey, you must be that friend that Kagami told me about," Haruhi said, eyebrows lifting at the girl, as if she was sizing her up. "I'm Bokuto Haruhi but just call me Haruhi or Haru-chan if you want. What's your name?"

"Oikawa Shouko," Shouko told her, "But you can call me Sho-chan since everyone does." She scrutinized the older girl with narrowed eyes.  _Hmm... she doesn't look like a superhero... or a waiter..._ "Can you fly?" she eventually asked, her voice serious, almost scarily so.

"H-huh?" Haruhi stared at her. "Um, no, I don't think I can."  _Otou-san calls me Little Owlet, but I don't think that counts._

Shouko looked disappointed and Haruhi quickly went on, "So you guys want to play volleyball?"

"Thanks for the offer, but it's pretty hot out today and we were just thinking of lazing around," Kagami said apologetically. "You want some lemonade? Okaa-chan has been craving sweet things lately so there's not much left but there should be enough for you."

Haruhi shrugged. "Sure thing." She bounced the volleyball on the floor twice before deciding just to carry it in her arms rather than dribble it.

"I'll get it for you!" Shouko said swiftly, deftly maneuvering into the kitchen. She wanted to make a good impression on Haruhi. What better way to do so than play waiter? "Just sit down around the table in the living room and I'll get you a glass!"

"Huh?" Kagami and Haruhi blinked in surprise before the former shrugged, smiling. "We should probably do what she says. I think she wants to play waiter."

"Oh, okay. So how did you two meet?" The two girls sat down opposite each other on the table, making themselves comfortable on the seating mats.

"Oh, we've been neighbors for about a few months," Kagami informed her. "Her family is friends with mine and when they heard that the house next door was vacant, they moved in since their workplaces were closer this way anyway."

"Ah, I see. Well, she seems like a good kid. I wonder if she's any good at volleyball?"

Kagami sweatdropped. "Hopefully. But if she's anything like me, she won't be."

Haruhi smirked. "Tell me about it."

In the kitchen, Shouko was rummaging through the fridge, searching for the bottle of lemonade that Kagami had pulled out not long ago.

"Ah, are you looking for the lemonade?" Kiyoko asked as she removed some fat from the soup she was making with a special ladle. "Sorry, Sho-chan, but I finished the rest."

"Ohh, that's too bad. Haruhi really wanted some too." Quickly, she grabbed a glass and filled it with water, causing Kiyoko to sweatdrop. Then Shouko ran out of the kitchen and practically slammed the glass of water on the table in front of Haruhi. "Here's your soda, madam!"

"It's water, but okay, thanks," Haruhi said, playing along, "Hmm, what should I order next, I wonder...?"

"Something really yummy," Shouko advised.

"How about some cake for us?" Kagami joked. When Shouko nodded and sprinted back to the kitchen, Kagami weakly called after her, "Eh? Sho-chan, you don't actually have to..."

"Onee-chan!" Shouko said to Kiyoko, "Do we have any cake in the fridge?"

Kiyoko hummed. "Cake? No, I don't think so, sorry, Sho-chan."  _Cake... When was the last time I actually indulged myself?_ She watched the disappointed Shouko return to the living room to announce that there was no cake. Kiyoko continued to wander in her thoughts before she followed Shouko, snatching her wallet from a nearby tabletop. "Girls? Here's some yen. Go buy cake."

Haruhi half stood up. "Oh, it's okay, Iwaizumi-san, you don't have to do this just for me."  _Ahh, she's too nice. I shouldn't impose on her like this. Even if otou-san wouldn't have any qualms with it._

Kiyoko frowned as she gave her daughter her wallet.  _"I want some."_

Haruhi swallowed a little nervously as she sat back down. "O-oh, I see."  _Erk! Iwaizumi-san can be scary sometimes..._

"What kind of cake do you want, onee-chan?" Shouko asked.

"Eh? Onee-chan?" Haruhi sweatdropped.

"A strawberry flavored one," Kiyoko answered, "Make sure there's a strawberry on top."  _Strawberries... so sweet and juicy but a little tart as well. Huh. I never truly realized how magnificent a strawberry is._ Truly, where  _were_ these thoughts coming from? Last week, it had been apples that consumed her thoughts. "And buy a slice for yourselves as well."

"Okay, onee-chan!"

"Thanks, okaa-chan."

"Th-thank you, Iwaizumi-san!"

* * *

Three girls walked down the street in a leisurely pace, heading downtown. It was where all the good shops were, cake shops included.

Suddenly, one of the girls blurted out, "Whoa! How did you do that, Haru-chan?!" Oikawa Shouko frowned in concentration, having just seen Bokuto Haruhi  _glide_ —yes,  _glide_ , of all things—across the pavement as if the concrete were ice.

"Eh?" Haruhi turned back, stopping herself from gliding any further. "Oh, you mean this?" Effortlessly, she slid across the sidewalk again, her posture relaxed. "It's because of my shoes, Sho-chan."

"Ah, I see," Kagami put in, "Haruhi has wheels at the bottom of her shoes, Sho-chan."

"Wheels?!" Shouko exclaimed, scrutinizing the Bokuto girl.  _I knew it...! She's some kind of robot, isn't she?_ She said as much, causing the other two girls to laugh.

"No, silly, it's just shoes," Kagami chided gently, "I think I have a pair in my garage too. It doesn't fit me anymore, but I remember using it a lot when I was your age."

Shouko nodded. "Hmm... Hey, Haruhi, can you stand still?"

"Erm, okay." Haruhi did as the smaller girl told, waiting for something to happen. "Whoa!" She cried out in surprise when she felt Shouko's hands on her back, the girl pushing her along. Gaining her bearings, Haruhi merely wheeled herself along the pathway.

"Uwaah! Again!" Much to Haruhi's dismay, Shouko pushed her again. And again. "Is there anything else you can do, Haru-chan?"

"Hmm, well, I can ride a unicycle," Haruhi told her, glad that Shouko left her alone for now. "In fact, I ride my unicycle to school every day. I'm pretty decent on a pogo stick as well."

"Are you a superhero?" Shouko asked bluntly, narrowing her eyes. No way that Haruhi could actually do all those things! "Or... a cyborg?"

"Ehm... no. No, I am not. To both questions."

Shouko shrugged. "If you say so,  _Haruhi_ , if that's even your real name."

"It is," Haruhi assured her.

They arrived in town some time later, Shouko taking in the sights of the bustling vendors in Miyagi. There was a florist run by a kindly old lady in her eighties. In the distance, she could see the tower belonging to a train station somewhere across town.

"If I'm correct, there should be two cake shops in our immediate area," Kagami notified them, looking around. "Which one should we go to?"

"Ah, just go to the nearest one," Haruhi said flippantly, seeing a pink and white cake shop not too far away. "Over there!"

"Okay then. I think that's one of those one hour cake shops that otou-san likes."

As the two girls walked on, Shouko was distracted by a tall blonde man eyeing his surroundings with what seemed to be thinly veiled disdain. It was hard to tell when he was wearing those eyeglasses.

 _He looks like he needs a lot of cheering up,_ Shouko noted a bit sadly.  _No one should be so glum during summer vacation._ Boldly, she approached where he was sitting down on a bench and half-heartedly reading a book.

"Hi, mister," she said, cautious despite everything. She knew that it wasn't the best idea to talk to strangers, but she couldn't help it. Oh well, she'd be on guard, so that made it okay, right?

The man raised a thin eyebrow at her. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

"Of course they did," Shouko huffed, indignant on her parents' behalf. Naoko and Oikawa were great parents! "But you looked sad."

He deadpanned at her. "Sad?"

"Yep. Wait here," Shouko commanded him, a plan formulating in her head.

"If I'm still here, it won't be because of you," he said, sounding faintly amused.

Ignoring his jibe, Shouko ran to catch up with Haruhi and Kagami, who had just noticed she was missing after finishing a conversation.

"Where did you go off to?" Kagami asked, relieved at her presence.

"That man over there is lonely," Shouko replied, pointing unabashedly at the blonde bespectacled man. "We should buy him a cake as well."

"Hah?" Haruhi gave her a look. "You want to spend money on a complete stranger? You're too kind, Sho-chan."  _Just wait until she's let out into the world and her innocence gets slowly devoured by the mentally unstable cannibal we call society,_ she thought sardonically.  _Oh no, I think my bitter side is coming out._

"Please?" Shouko pleaded. "Nobody should be so unhappy during summer vacation!"

"Well..." Kagami hesitated. "Okay, if we have enough money to buy five cakes, then we'll get him one as well."

"How do we know he'll still be there when we come back?" Haruhi pointed out, still against the idea of treating a random to some cake.

"Because I told him to stay there until I came back," Shouko answered, sounding proud of herself. "Now let's go buy some cake!"

Kagami and Haruhi exchanged a glance before the former shrugged. Then they all entered the cake stall, where the advertising waitress gave them a smile by the doorway.

"Whoaa..." Kagami had to hold Shouko by the shoulders to prevent the younger girl from pressing her face against the display glass, where the cakes were showcased. "There's so many? I didn't realize there'd be so many...! All of these are cakes, right?!"

"Yep," Kagami confirmed with a smile, "they are. Pick out your favorite, Sho-chan."

Shouko nodded, grinning. "Nice, nice... which one's the best?"

"Eh? How would we know?" asked Haruhi before talking to the lady working behind the display. "Excuse me, we'll have five slices of cake in total. One of them will be this strawberry one over here." She pointed at the cake in question. "And I'll take a slice of the chocolate mud cake, please." She stepped back, allowing Kagami to examine the cake display in her place.

"A black cake," Shouko said with a slow nod, tapping Haruhi's shoulder. "Do you like coffee or something?"

"H-hah? No, not really. I prefer tea."

"Waahh... you're a kid like me but also an adult."  _Haru-chan is really wise!_

"What?" Haruhi gave her a puzzled look.  _Just... just roll with it,_ she told herself.

Meanwhile, Kagami had her eyes narrowed, carefully examining each and every cake up for sale.  _They all look pretty good... which one should I get? The passion fruit and cream? Or maybe the pamplemousse one?_ Then she laid eyes on one of the most sophisticated, intricately decorated cakes she'd ever seen. "This one!" She pointed at it. "I'd like this one, please."

"Is it the hazelnut and pumpkin mont blanc?" the clerk asked.

Kagami nodded and beamed up at the worker, pleased with her choice. "Yes."  _Hehe... my cake looks the best compared to Haruhi's and okaa-chan's._

"That doesn't look very good," Shouko said loudly, unimpressed with Kagami's decision, "It looks like a giant pile of poop."

"Eh?!" Kagami recoiled from her bluntness. "H-how rude! Don't say that!"

But Shouko was no longer paying attention to Kagami, intent on choosing a cake for herself and the blonde man she had met on the bench. "Hmm... which one is onee-chan getting?"

"That one," said Haruhi, pointing at the strawberry cake.

"Ooh, okay! I'd like that one too please! And one for the guy as well."

The worker started packing all the cakes when Kagami grimaced, realizing something. "Sorry, Sho-chan, but we don't have enough to buy five. I should have checked before. Sorry again."

Shouko wilted. "Aww... okay." Then she patted Kagami's back. "We can leave out your ugly cake then."

"H-hey, it's not ugly! And I really want to eat that, so take out something else!"

"Don't look at me," Haruhi said before Shouko could get any ideas, "Because I haven't eaten cake since the start of the year and chocolate's my favorite."

"We can't leave out onee-chan's though," Shouko said sadly.  _Which means we have to leave out mine or the blonde guy's..._

Soon, all the cakes were packed and the three girls came out of the store, Shouko looking a bit crestfallen. But she perked up when she saw that the gloomy man was still sitting on his bench, his book closed and placed in his shirt pocket. He was looking around his surroundings, watching the world go by in an almost bored and uncaring manner.

"There he is!" Shouko said excitedly, getting Kagami to give her one of the bags that contained a strawberry cake.

"He looks like he's about to murder someone," Haruhi muttered to Kagami, watching Shouko run to him with a small amount of worry. "I hope he likes strawberry because we don't get refunds."

"Hm?" The blonde man gave Shouko a glance as she ran up to him, the bag swinging in her hands. "Oh, you're back."

"Here!" Shouko held out the bag to him, looking like a servant offering something to her master. "Me and my friends bought cake. I didn't know what flavor you liked so we just bought you strawberry shortcake. I hope that's okay."

The man's eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of strawberry, not even bothering to scold the girl when she crudely dumped the bag with the cake box inside it onto his lap. "You didn't have to buy me anything, you know. I wasn't sad."  _Strawberry shortcake... my favorite._

"The store doesn't give refunds," Shouko said bluntly. "So take it! It's yummy."

Looking a bit uncomfortable, he accepted the cake. "Okay then. Thank... thanks, kid."

"My name is not 'kid', it's 'Shouko', glasses guy."

He smirked. "And my name isn't 'glasses guy',  _kid_. It's Kei. And where are your parents?"

"It's just me and my friends," answered Shouko, pouting at his jibe. "We're big kids, you know! Now see ya!" She waved goodbye before rejoining her friends, the three of them walking off into the distance.

Tsukishima Kei watched them leave before looking back down at the bag of cake in his lap.

Then he smiled.

* * *

"Okaa-chan, we're back!" Kagami announced, closing the door behind her and her two friends. "And we have your cake as well!"

"Oh, thank you, Kagami." Kiyoko appeared from the kitchen, having just turned off the stove. The four of them sat around the living room table on some mats, Haruhi and Kagami taking out their cake boxes. They opened them up and gave the cakes to the owners. Haruhi's volleyball lay discarded to the side.

"Sho-chan, didn't you want any?" Kiyoko asked when she, Haruhi, and Kagami were halfway done with their desserts, having noticed that Shouko lacked a cake of her own. From the disappointed look on Shouko's face, it was clear that she  _did_ want some, but hadn't bought any for herself.

"No," Shouko said, shaking her head, "That's okay."  _Erggghh... my stomach is growling._

Kagami looked guilty. "Sho-chan gave hers to a stranger who she thought looked sad..." She put down her fork. "Geez, now I feel bad..."  _Sho-chan was so kind to him..._

"Same here," sighed Haruhi, pushing her box back. "I'm not that hungry anyway. You want the rest of mine, Sho-chan?"  _It's the least I can do, honestly. I feel like a major jerk, eating cake right in front of Sho-chan when she doesn't have any to eat for herself._

Shouko's eyes widened, her jaw slacking. "Really, Haru-chan?!"

"Sure. Take it." Haruhi smiled when Shouko pulled the box toward her before running into the kitchen to grab another fork. She returned a few seconds later and plopped down on the mat, promptly digging into the rest of Haruhi's chocolate mud cake.

"Yummy! So this is what adult cake tastes like."

"Adult cake?" Haruhi echoed, sweatdropping. "Erm, sure..."  _Does she still think I'm an adult in a child's body? Heh._

"Oh, Sho-chan, you can have mine as well," Kagami offered, feeling that it was for the best.

Shouko stared at her cake before shaking her head. "No thanks, it still looks poopy."

"H-hah?! What's wrong with it?! It's not poopy, you take that back!" cried Kagami, feeling indignant on the behalf of her cake.

But Shouko stuck her tongue out at Kagami. "It is, it is! You have bad fashion sense!"

Kiyoko started to laugh at their exchange, the sound bell-like. Then the three girls all exchanged glances before bursting into a fit of giggles themselves.

It was a wonderful afternoon.

* * *

Yamaguchi looked surprised as Tsukishima sat down in front of him with a genial smile on his face. "You look happy," he observed. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long."

"It's fine," Tsukishima dismissed his apology. "Don't order any food for me either. I'm not hungry."

Yamaguchi gave his longtime best friend a suspicious glance. "Does this have anything to do with how unnaturally nice you're being?"

Tsukishima snorted. "Spare me. In the words of that bedhead cat,  _I'm always this kind._ " The corners of his mouth twitched upward. "But if you really want to know, I guess it's because life doesn't seem so shit today."

"And why's that?"

"Cake," Tsukishima said simply. "And a kind gesture, I guess."  _That kid looked familiar though... almost like a girl child version of Oikawa Tooru. Except nicer and more innocent. And maybe even less annoying._

"Tsukki, you didn't have a heatstroke, did you? Are you feeling alright?"

"Honestly?" Tsukishima's eyebrows raised marginally and he gave Yamaguchi another one of his rare  _genuine_ smiles. "I'm feeling better than ever."

 


	4. Summer Festival

_Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability._

—  _Sam Keen_

* * *

The summer cicadas buzzed loudly as Kagami and Shouko strolled down the riverside, the latter unable to resist peering into the reeds every ten seconds.

"What are you looking for, Sho-chan?" Kagami asked when Shouko started pushing through the reeds for longer than ever.

"Frogs, Kagamin!" Shouko had become quite taken with Kagami's new nickname and liked to use it every chance she got, much like how Oikawa Tooru called his best friend "Iwa-chan".

"Frogs, huh?" Kagami looked up at the blue sky before smiling. "Yeah, frogs are nice, aren't they?" It just so happened she was carrying a net for catching such creatures. "Let's try to find one together and look after it for a bit! Then we can take it back to the field."

"Oh, oh, okay! Make it a really big one too!"

About ten minutes later, they were successful in catching a large frog that Shouko decided to name Momo. Kagami carefully carried Momo in her net all the way home, Shouko making it her duty to make sure that Momo didn't escape.

"Okaa-chan, otou-san, we're home!" Kagami announced as she stepped into the house barefoot. She carefully removed the frog from her net, making sure to grip it firmly but not too tightly so that it wouldn't be painful for the creature.

"Where are we going to put Momo?" Shouko asked when Kagami passed the frog to her to take off her hat.

"I have a tank in my room," Kagami replied, "Come on, Sho-chan, let's go!"

"Woww... Momo sure is cute, right?"

"I know! It's so big as well. What a great find..."

Iwaizumi was sitting in front of his computer, having just finished some work when the telltale pitter-patter of feet sounded, indicating that Shouko and Kagami were headed upstairs as they talked about something cute.

 _Hmm? Did they find some sort of kitten or something?_ Iwaizumi wondered as he pushed his chair away from his desk to come out and greet the girls. "Hey," he said, popping his head out to the corridor, "let me see too."

Shouko eagerly held up the writhing amphibian in her hands.

"... I need some coffee."

Iwaizumi headed downstairs, a bit lightheaded, as Kagami closed the door to her room behind her. Then she placed Momo in a clean tank she had used for a previous science experiment.

"So, Sho-chan," Kagami eventually said when the two sat down in the floor, Kagami hugging Uroro to her chest. "Is your family going to the summer festival next week? There's one happening in our neighborhood in the evening."

Shouko nodded. "Mmhm! Kaa-chan says that we're going to meet Sumire-nee-chan and Tobio-nii-san there as well."

"Are you guys going to wear a yukata? Haruhi said she was going to wear one since she volunteered to help out at the shrine."

"Wow, Haruhi is so awesome and good at everything... Do you think I can volunteer too?"

"I think you'll be too young. Sorry, Sho-chan."

"Aww..."

* * *

Oikawa Tooru answered the door, blinking in bland surprise at the short person standing in front of him and wearing a mask over her face. "Sumire-chan...?"

"I do not know of this person you speak of. I am the Cicada Queen." Sumire lifted the mask over her face. "By the way, where's Sho-chan? The custom yukata you ordered arrived and I have it here with me."

"Next door at Iwa-chan's," Oikawa answered, smirking. "Why do I get the feeling that you're up to something?"

"Kukuku... you know me so well, Tooru-nii." Then Sumire pulled the mask back down and headed over to the Iwaizumi's.

* * *

"... And then Haruhi ate the whole loaf of bread!" Kagami finished, laughing until her sides hurt. "Even while the poles collapsed!"

"Is Haruhi the Hulk?!" Shouko demanded to know, enraptured by Kagami's tale. "She's so strong and eats a lot!"

Before Kagami could answer, someone knocked on the door. Assuming that it was her mother or father, Kagami called, "Come in!"

The door swung open eerily slow... and a masked menace entered in an almost zombie-like state.

"Shouko... I am the Cicada Queen... and I have come to collect your soul for the summer harvest!" Sumire declared, drawing out her sentences to make herself seem more fiendish.

"Guh... Gwah?!" Shouko cried out unintelligibly, backing away in fear with eyes wide. "Get away! Ahh! I don't want my soul to be harvested!" When Sumire neared her, she cried even louder, "GYAAAHH!"

Kagami stared at Sumire. "The heck..."

Suddenly, Shouko grabbed something from Kagami's desk and threw it at her. It was a stress relief ball and the thing bounced harmlessly off Sumire's waist.

"GET AWAY!" shouted Shouko, feeling for something else to throw at the Cicada Queen. "GYAAHH, LEAVE ME AND MY SOUL ALONE!" Then she found a roll of masking tape and threw it hard at Sumire. It bonked her on the head.

"Ouch! ... Now you've done it," Sumire said threateningly, continuing to advance on Shouko.

"Sumire-nee, that's you, right?" Kagami said weakly. "Maybe you should stop..."

"I do not know who this person is," retorted Sumire. "I am the Cicada Queen and my only purpose is to collect this little girl's soul!"  _Heheh... she's so easy to scare!_

"GET AWAAAY!" squeaked Shouko, tossing a stapler fast and hard at Sumire, who flinched.

 _Okay, maybe this joke is going a little too far,_ Sumire thought to herself, sweatdropping. She peeled off her mask. "Calm down, Sho-chan, it's just— _mffft!_ "

While Sumire had been taking off her mask, Shouko, in a last resort move, had grabbed Momo from its tank and thrown it at Sumire, the frog landing headfirst in her mouth.

"Mffft!" screamed Sumire, flailing her arms around.

"MOMO!" shrieked Kagami, unable to see the poor thing in pain.

"THE CICADA QUEEN ATE SUMIRE-NEE AND NOW SHE'S EATING MOMO TOO!" Shouko howled in terror, pointing an accusing finger at Sumire. Deciding it was nigh time to take action, Shouko ran at Sumire and started kicking her shins with all her might. "TAKE THAT! AND THAT, AND THAT!"

"MFFFFTT!"

"SUMIRE-NEE, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BITE DOWN ON MOMO!" Kagami warned, panicking.

Sumire looked as if she were going to faint at that suggestion. Eventually, Sumire managed to calm herself down enough to pull the frog out of her mouth, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she balked.

Momo simply hopped to the side.

"GYAAAH!" Sumire screamed, the fact that she had just had a  _frog_  in her oral cavity catching up to her.

"GYAAAAAAAH!" Shouko hollered, still under the impression that Sumire was the Cicada Queen in disguise.

"Momo...!" sobbed Kagami, grabbing the frog and holding it close to her.

* * *

Downtown, Naoko was shopping for tonight's dinner. She glanced upward as a flock of crows flew overhead, disappearing over a particularly tall building.

The summer breeze caused her hair to whip around as she craned her neck to try and glimpse the crows again before giving up.

 _What a quiet day today..._ she thought.

* * *

Kageyama frowned when he sat down opposite Sumire for dinner. "You haven't kissed me all day," he said bluntly.  _And you've brushed your teeth three times today..._

Sumire grimaced, looking a little pale. "Trust me when I say I'm doing you a favor."

* * *

"Hold still," said Naoko as she tied the sash of Shouko's kimono. Shouko kicked her legs back and forth on her parent's bed as Naoko tightened the sash. "There. Now let me do your hair..."

Naoko herself was wearing a yukata for the summer festival that was happening in their neighborhood. She and her family were to head over there with the Iwaizumi family. There, they would likely be meeting up with Sumire and Kageyama, both whom had promised to show up.

"Eh? Why are you twisting my hair like that?" Shouko tried to tilt her head up but Naoko forced her to lower her chin.

"Because you look nicer this way," Naoko replied simply as she finished up with her daughter's brown locks. "Your hair has grown out long enough for me to style it like this."

They exited the bedroom, where Oikawa, who was dressed in a navy blue yukata, greeted them, smiling. "Sho-chan, you look so pretty!" He picked up his giggling daughter and held her in her arms, careful not to mess up her hair.

Shouko scrunched up her nose. "Don't care! I want to play with Kagamin when we get there so my hair's gonna get all messed up anyway."

Naoko rolled her eyes as Oikawa set her down again. "Just don't roll in the grass again."

They met up with Iwaizumi and Kiyoko, where greetings were exchanged before they all hopped into Iwaizumi's car to drive to the festival location.

"Wow, Sho-chan, you look so cute," cooed Kagami, pinching Shouko's cheek and laughing. "Did your mom do your hair for you?"

"Uh huh! Okaa-chan is really good at styling hair, isn't she?!"

Kiyoko smiled at Naoko. "You really are. Since when did you get so good at doing these kinds of things?"

Naoko snorted. "When you have Ryouta Rin as a friend, it's nearly impossible not to escape without some kind of vain knowledge... She made sure to make my university days hell with her makeup tips."

At that, Oikawa laughed. "I remember when you tried to put on mascara for the first time! My god, you looked like someone had punched both of your eyes! I was about to call the ambulance, Mako-chan."

"Oh, shut up," Naoko grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "It was my first time, okay?"  _Dumb chihuahua!_

At that, Iwaizumi spluttered and nearly missed a stoplight.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Hajime," sighed Kiyoko, a smile exuding fond exasperation on her face.

"It's okay, Kiyoko, we all know that Iwa-chan is a secret pervert—"

"We are  _not_ having this discussion in front of the kids, Trashykawa," Iwaizumi cut him off with a half-hearted scowl.

"Kaa-chan, can I get a goldfish?" Naoko raised both eyebrows subtly at Shouko's sudden inquiry. "Kagamin said that a lot of festivals have the goldfish scooping game!"

Oikawa turned his head backward from his place in the front seat to exchange a concerned glance with Naoko.  _Nobody in their right mind would let Shouko look after a live animal._

"Sorry, kiddo, but you're not going to be able to look after it," Oikawa said, hoping to let her down gently. "Maybe when you're older..."

"Aww..." Shouko pouted, eerily reminding Oikawa of himself.

"What about me?" Kagami asked, tugging Kiyoko's sleeve. "Do you think I'm ready to look after a pet?"  _Momo turned out alright... even if Sumire-nee nearly asphyxiated it in her mouth..._ "We have a fish pond in the back that we can use."

"If you want," Iwaizumi answered, and Shouko spluttered in disbelief. "I think you're responsible enough to own a fish."

"I agree," Kiyoko added, "It'll be a good experience."

"Thanks!"

"Why does Kagamin get to have a fish and I don't?" Shouko complained, puffing out her cheeks in indignation.  _Unfair! I can be responsible too!_

"Because you're too young," Naoko told her, "And you're not ready for such a responsibility yet. Maybe when you're older, we'll let you have one."

When they arrived at the festival, it was already in full swing. There were plenty of locals wandering around, playing festival games or running stands. The shrine was decorated as well, and some shrine maidens were handing out fortunes and selling souvenirs.

"Don't wander off too far," Naoko told Shouko as she left her daughter in the care of Kagami. "Stay with Kagami-chan at all times; don't leave her side, okay?"

"I'll make sure to look after her," Kagami promised.

Soon, the two children separated from the adults, wandering around to look for Haruhi, who was supposed to be working here tonight as a shrine maiden. Eventually, they spotted her offering fortunes.

"Haruhi!" Shouko said cheerfully as she and Kagami approached her. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hi, you guys." Haruhi grinned at them before pulling out two fortunes and giving them to Kagami and Shouko. "I'm handing out fortunes. Here."

"Oohh..." Shouko tried to look through the plastic containing the paper fortune. "... I can't tell what it is."

"Silly," Haruhi laughed, "It doesn't work that way! I'm going off my shift soon so I'll be able to join you for the rest of the night."

"You're supposed to open them first and then unroll the paper," Kagami explained to an irritated Shouko, demonstrating by tearing open her own and pulling out the paper. "Like this, see?"

"But what if it's a bad fortune? I want a good fortune!" Shouko protested.

Haruhi sweatdropped. "Like I said, it doesn't work that way... Just open it and see for yourself, Sho-chan." As Shouko begrudgingly did so, Haruhi turned to Kagami. "What kind of fortune did you get?"

"Geehh..." Kagami turned over the paper to Haruhi, tears comically pouring down her face. "I got future bad luck! Wuu..."

Shouko opened and read hers. "I have middle fortune," she said, "Is that good?"

"Yeah, that's great," Haruhi replied, "Personally, I think middle fortune is the best one to get. Also, Kagami, you should probably tie yours to a tree so that bad luck doesn't follow you around."

"Oh, great idea, Haruhi!" Kagami looked around for a tree branch to tie her fortune on, spotting a tree that already had multiple fortunes tied on its thin branches. "Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd think it was rigged..." She went over to the tree and managed to find a bare spot. Carefully, she tied her fortune on it... but then the branch snapped off and fell into Kagami's hands. "Gaah!"

Shouko pointed a finger at Kagami and unabashedly laughed. "Looks like bad luck is going to follow you around, Kagamin!"

"Aw, be quiet," Kagami grumbled before attempting to tie it on another branch. It snapped off again. "Are you serious?!"

Haruhi was let off her shift five minutes later, and the girls eventually found a bare tree to tie Kagami's bad fortune on. Haruhi encouraged Shouko to keep her middle fortune with her until she got home and even bought Kagami a golden poo to counter her bad luck.

Shouko marveled at Kagami's new golden poo charm. "It looks just like the cake you ate the other day! It must be a sign!"

Kagami scowled. "Hey, stop insulting my cake! I'm  _sorry_ I have a more sophisticated taste than you, Sho-chan."  _I thought it tasted good! And it looked nice... not poopy..._

"Hey, little girls, over here!" A crafty looking elderly vendor was beckoning them over, a smile on his face that was far too large to be genuine. "Do you want to win some toys? Come over here and play the shooting darts game!"

The three girls glanced at the man's selection of toys on the shelf. Suddenly, Shouko's eyes widened and she cried, "It's Uroro!" She pointed at a teddy bear sitting on the middle shelf in awe. "A real life Uroro!"

"Are you still on about that?" Kagami blinked at her in surprise. "Her name's Ushio, but whatever, I guess. Do you want to try and win Uroro?"

Shouko nodded eagerly and Kagami pulled out her wallet, filled with the allowance that her parents gave her. "I have about 1500 yen in here," Kagami reported. "How much for a play, sir?"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes at the man.  _I don't trust this man... he's got this fishy air about him._ But there was nothing Haruhi could do as the man explained the game to Shouko.

"All you have to do is hit the bear and it's all yours," he promised with that shifty grin on his face. "And it's 250 yen for three darts." After Kagami paid, the man gave a plastic gun filled with the plastic darts to Shouko.

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Shouko shot at the bear and missed it by inches. "Darn it!" She shot at it again but missed by an even larger distance. "Hrr..."

"Calm down, Sho-chan," soothed Kagami, "If you get mad, you won't be able to concentrate."

"Kagami's right, Sho-chan," added Haruhi, shooting discrete death glares at the elderly vendor. "And don't get too upset if you miss, okay?"

"Fine, fine." Taking aim, Shouko unleashed the final dart onto the toys on the shelf. It hit the teddy bear's leg. "Yes! I win!"

"Good job, Sho-chan," praised Kagami, refraining from ruffling the girl's styled hair for now. "Uroro's all yours now."

Haruhi stepped in front of them, ready to collect the teddy bear from the vendor. "Excuse me, sir, the bear, please." She raised an expecting eyebrow at the man.  _This guy really annoys me..._

"Sorry, but I can't do that," the vendor apologized in a tone that suggested that he was not at all sorry for declining Shouko's prize. "To win, I said you had to  _knock_ the bear off the shelf."

"Hah?! No you didn't!" Haruhi said angrily. "You just said we had to hit it!"

"I must be going senile in my old age," the man said apologetically, grinning sharply.

Shouko's eyes grew sad. "But... Uroro..." Tears started welling up in her eyes. "You said I could have Uroro if I won!"

"There's no way one of these flimsy darts could knock anything as heavy as that bear off the shelf," Kagami argued, frowning. "You're trying to scam us!"

The man yawned as if none of them were even worth his time. "Look, you brats, just run along, okay?"

"Give us our money back first!" barked Haruhi, baring her teeth at him. "You conman!"

The man tapped the sign that said 'no refunds' with his wooden cane. "You can read, right?"

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Sumire suddenly appeared behind them with her husband in tow. Unlike Sumire, Kageyama was not dressed in any traditional wear, wearing instead a volleyball jersey and carrying a volleyball. He had obviously just come from a volleyball game. She narrowed her eyes at the elderly vendor.  _This guy seems really familiar..._

Shouko, teary-eyed and on the verge of crying, tugged on Sumire's yukata sleeve. "This man won't give Uroro to me! He says that you have to knock Uroro of the shelf!"

The girl's bottom lip trembled and Sumire scowled, instantly remembering just who this sleazeball was. Then she smirked.  _Obviously, he doesn't remember who Tobio and I are just yet..._ "Excuse me, how much yen for a play?" she asked.

"250," was the man's expected answer. He smiled lazily at Sumire, obviously expecting more easy winnings.

Sumire paid the money and received the dart gun with a triumphant smile on her face before stepping back. "Hey, Tobio, you're up."

Kageyama smirked. "Gladly." He brought the volleyball up so that the man could see it. "Remember me, bastard?"

The man's wide eyes indicated that  _yes, he did indeed remember him._ Kageyama tossed the ball up in the air agonizingly slowly, ready to serve the volleyball into the shelves and shelves of toys.

"WAIT!" the man cried, sweating as he grabbed Uroro down from the shelf. He smiled genially at Shouko as he gave her the bear. "M-my treat, little girl."

"R-really?" Shouko sniffed, taking the bear from him and holding it tightly. "Thanks!"

"HAHA, it's really no big deal..." The man stepped back from them, obviously terrified. "... Please don't knock down all of my shelves again... you nearly bankrupted me last time."

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe I will if you stop trying to scam kids out of their money."  _This damn asshole again... I never thought I'd see him again._

"Wow, Tobio-nii, you're the best!" Shouko cheered as she hugged Kageyama's legs. "Thank you sooo much!"

"Ahem," Sumire cleared her throat and opened up her arms expectantly. "What am I, chopped liver?"

A cheeky grin stretched across Shouko's face. "No, but you're stinky like liver!" Scowling, Sumire pinched her cheek.

"Take that back, you brat!"

"Whoa!" Haruhi suddenly blurted, looking up at Kageyama. "You're my otou-san's volleyball friend, right?"

"Eh?" Kageyama glanced at her. "Who's your dad? Wait..." He narrowed his eyes at her silver-grey hair. "... Bokuto?"

"Y-yeah! I'm Bokuto Haruhi... And you're Kageyama Tobio, prodigy, right?!"

Kagami, who was in awe of how the whole situation had been resolved, piped up, "I've never seen you so excited, Haruhi."

"Are you kidding?! This guy is legendary!"

"Hu?" Shouko tilted her head to one side. "I just call him Angry-senpai in my head, actually..."

Kageyama looked decidedly unimpressed but decided to let that remark slide.

"Angry-senpai?!" Haruhi looked as if she were about to faint. She wobbled and Sumire just managed to catch her before she fell.

* * *

"... And I was wondering if Shouko wanted to come," Kiyoko concluded as she, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Naoko all stood together to the side. "I think she'll enjoy it, even if we have to wake up really early."

"I remember Hiyori," said Oikawa, mulling Kiyoko's suggestion over. "The photographer, right?"

"Mm. She's going exclusively for the sights and she's taking Kagami with her, so why not?"

"I suppose," Naoko hummed, "Tooru, you're free next week, right? Which means you should be able to go."

"Ah, do I really have to?" Oikawa harrumphed. "I don't want to wake up at four in the morning just for something like that."

"You don't get to see  _something like that_ every day," Iwaizumi pointed out. "Honestly, I'd go if I could, and so would Kiyoko." He deadpanned at Oikawa. "And your lazy ass would rather sleep in..."

"Mean," Oikawa whined, "Besides, beauty sleep is important!"

"Obviously, your beauty sleep isn't working," Iwaizumi said snidely.

"Rude! So rude, Iwa-chan!"

"It's a shame that I can't go either," Naoko said to Kiyoko. "But I have to be at the hospital on Thursday."

"And I actually have to go down to my office for once," Kiyoko said with a laugh. "Hiyori really picks the worst timing."

* * *

With a triumphant shout, Kagami managed to bounce a goldfish into her bowl. The vendor congratulated her before pouring the goldfish and some water into a plastic baggy for Kagami to carry home.

Kageyama and Sumire had wandered off somewhere else and Haruhi would have left with them if Kagami hadn't pulled her back (Kageyama had shot her a thankful look).

"Wow, Kagamin is so cool!" marveled Shouko, taking a close look at the bag. "So lucky as well... I want a goldfish!"

"You can come over ever day to see Gyoppi-chan if you want," Kagami promised with a smile.

"Huh? Gyoppi-chan?" Haruhi said questioningly as she squatted down to look at the little goldfish. "Is that what you decided to name it?"

"Mmhm!" Kagami stared lovingly at her goldfish.  _I'll take care of it. I'll take good care of it. My little Gyoppi-chan..._


	5. UFOs

_It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill._

—  _Wilbur Wright_

* * *

"Here it is!" Oikawa presented the box with great flair, grinning at Kuroo Tetsuro. Both of the men were currently seated on the kitchen table, the latter watching Oikawa unbox his new toy.

"Let me guess, it turns into a UFO and flies as well," Kuroo quipped as Oikawa pulled out the machinery in the box.

"I wish," Oikawa returned, "But the description promised the best coffee in the world!" Indeed, the coffee machine did look very sleek and shiny. "Look at it, Tetsu... it's a queen."

Kuroo smirked. "Better not let your wife hear you say that. She's pissed enough about the thing and I don't blame her. I thought it was the woman's role to be obsessed with online shopping." Kuroo sipped his green tea, splashing the liquid in his mouth before swallowing. "Don't quote me on that, by the way."

Soon, the coffee machine was set up and Oikawa took a backseat in watching the machine dribble coffee into his mug, which he placed below the nozzle. Personally, Kuroo thought that Oikawa looked like a proud father about to hold his newborn child for the first time.

Finally, the mug was filled and Oikawa took it and sniffed, taking in its aroma. "Wow, this is pretty good..." He blew away the hot steam before taking a small sip. "This is what love tastes like!" he declared before taking a bigger gulp of the hot beverage. "Ack! Hot!" He stuck out his scalded tongue. "Fwuck."

"Serves you right, dumbass," Kuroo said before snatching the mug from him and taking a sip from where Oikawa's lips hadn't touched. "Huh. Better than I expected. Are you going to get Hajime to try it too? You know how much he loves his coffee."

"Hmm, you're right." Oikawa's tongue seemed to be better now. "I should make him a mug to try." He placed another cup underneath the coffee machine nozzle and waited for it to fill up, making conversation with Kuroo as he did so.

"How's the missus?" he asked Kuroo, smiling as he drank as coffee. "Pregnant and angry? Or still just angry?"

"Just normal angry," Kuroo answered, "We're still young, don't need kids just yet."

Oikawa groaned. "Are you kidding? We're old men... I might as well get a cane and walk around with a hunchback. Your angry wife should start calling you ojii-san soon."

"Kinky," snickered Kuroo, causing Oikawa to make a face. "Didn't realize that my wife has a grandpa fetish..."

Suddenly, Shouko was in the kitchen too, dressed in her pyjamas. "Huh? Grandpa fetish? What's that?'

"Erk!" Oikawa sat up straighter in his chair, nearly knocking over his coffee. "N-nothing you need to know about, Sho-chan," he reassured, sweatdropping. "Did you just wake up?"

"Mmhm..." Shouko rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I couldn't sleep last night. It was too hot."

"Yeah, it is pretty warm this summer," Kuroo said, and Shouko noticed him for the first time.

"Your hair is weird," she said unabashedly. "And you look like an anime villain."

Kuroo turned to Oikawa, both eyebrows raised. "Yeah, she's definitely yours."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Oikawa said smoothly, cracking a smile.

"Who are you?" Shouko asked Kuroo, eyeing him suspiciously.  _Since he's a villain..._ "Are you here to fight Haruhi?"

"Eh?" Kuroo did a double take at that. "I—uh, no."  _Does she mean Bokuto's kid?_ "I'm Kuroo Tetsuro, and I can assure you that I'm definitely not a villain."

"Ohh... okay. I'm Sho-chan. You're kind of like Iwa-chan, actually..."

"Oh, that reminds me... Sho-chan, could you take this over to Iwa-chan for me?" He pushed his chair back and grabbed the filled up coffee mug. "It's coffee and you know how much Iwa-chan likes it."

"I've never had coffee before!" exclaimed Shouko, sniffing the beverage that was Iwaizumi's. "Can I try some?"

So Oikawa allowed her a small sip of some of his.

Shouko had a less than positive reaction with it. "... This soup is bitter. It tastes like dishwater."

Kuroo burst out laughing at that, Oikawa sending a glare his direction.

"Are you sure Iwa-chan will want some?" Shouko inquired.  _Kagami's family all like to eat and drink weird stuff... like poop cake and bitter soup._

"Yes, I'm sure," Oikawa reassured her, ruffling her hair (ah, how he loved to do that—her hair was just as fluffy and soft as his). "Go on, now."

"Okay!" Shouko, in her half-asleep state, stumbled down the corridor, unknowingly spilling some of the coffee as she did so. As she was unlocking the gate outside, she noticed the morning paper on her doorstep. "Oh!" She squatted down and picking up the paper, spilling even more of the beverage as she tilted her arm to carry the paper under her armpit so that she could use her free hand to unlock the gate. She grinned when she noticed that it was no longer so hard for her to reach the latch.  _I must have gotten taller! Yes!_ In her excitement, the remaining coffee spilled onto the sidewalk and down the drain.

When she was inside the neighbor's house, she presented the coffee to Kiyoko, who only had to glance at the empty cup to know what had happened. Feeling a little bad for the girl, Kiyoko pretended to drink from the cup. "Wow, this is really good, Sho-chan. I know it was for Hajime, but could you go get another cup since I drank all of his?"

"Of course!" Shouko happily obliged, giving the woman a victory sign. Then she ran all the way back to her own kitchen, nearly slipping on the coffee spill in the corridor.  _Hah, when did that get there?_

"Oh, look who's back," said Kuroo when Shouko emerged from the corridor.

"Did Iwa-chan like it?" Oikawa asked.

"Actually, Kiyoko-nee-chan drank all of it before Iwa-chan could try any," Shouko reported, holding out the empty cup to her father. "She asked if you could make another cup for Iwa-chan."

Oikawa blinked in surprise as he took the mug for her. "Is it really that good?"

"Didn't the description say it was the best coffee in the world?" Kuroo teased. "Ye of little faith, Tooru..."

Oikawa stuck his tongue out at the former Nekoma captain childishly as the mug filled up again. "Here you go. It's pretty hot so be careful, okay?"

Shouko took the cup and headed back over to the neighbor's house, this time being more careful. She didn't spill a single drop on her way. Grinning, she presented the full coffee cup to Kiyoko, who nodded in approval.

"Hajime is in the kitchen," Kiyoko informed her. "He came down for breakfast not long ago."

"Ooh, okay!" Forgetting all about being careful, Shouko dashed to the kitchen.

Iwaizumi looked up from his newspaper just in time to see Shouko trip and spill the caffeinated beverage all over the tiled kitchen floor. He sweatdropped.  _She's okay, right...?_

Shouko, who had face-planted onto the hard floor and had an enormous red circle in the middle of her face to show for it, lifted her head and wailed, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

"Oh, Sho-chan..." Kiyoko helped her up, examining her face. "It's okay, don't cry. The coffee really was very good."

Shouko sniffled. "Okay..."

Summoned by the noise, Kagami raced down the stairs, curious. "Oh, Sho-chan! I thought it was you." Seeing the red mark on her face, her gaze turned into one of concern. "Are you okay? Did you fall over?"

"Yeah, and I spilled all of the bitter soup everywhere," said Shouko, pointing at the puddle of coffee. Kiyoko promptly went to fetch a paper towel to clean up the mess.

"Bitter soup?" Kagami tilted her head to one side. "I thought it was coffee." She shook her head. "Never mind that, though. Want to see Gyoppi-chan?" she asked, hoping to distract Shouko.

"Oh, okay!"

The girls went out the back just as Kiyoko kissed Iwaizumi softly. "Read anything interesting?" she inquired, seating herself on another chair.

"Not really." He raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, ice cream prices have went up, though... Sho-chan definitely won't be happy about that. Speaking of ice cream, I found a whole tub of strawberry ice cream in the fridge." Iwaizumi smirked. "Do you have anything to do with that?"

"Maybe," Kiyoko said innocently, "And if I did, it's because I can't help it. Ever since I ate that cake... strawberry's becoming irresistible. Don't be surprised if I end up divorcing you to marry a strawberry."

Iwaizumi laughed as he imagined Kiyoko as a strawberry. "That'll be the day."

Outside, Shouko and Kagami were crouched on the edge of the stone fish pond. In the pond, Gyoppi-chan was swimming around, just as small as it had been since last night at the festival.

With a smile on her face, Kagami used a scooper to put a small amount of fish food into the water. Gyoppi-chan gobbled up the brown pellets eagerly.

"Your breakfast, Gyoppi-chan~" Kagami giggled, shifting into baby-talk. "You're sure hungry today, aren't you?" Completely charmed by her goldfish, she dropped more fish food into the pond. Once she was done indulging her fish, Kagami turned to Shouko. "Hey, has your dad or mom said anything about next week's trip?"

"Trip?" Obviously, they hadn't, so Kagami continued.

"Yep! My Aunt Hiyori is taking me and your parents and okaa-chan said that you could come too. I'm pretty sure your dad agreed to come as well."

"Really?! Where are we going?" Shouko demanded.

"We're going to see... pause for dramatic effect..." Suddenly, Kagami opened up her arms, nearly smacking Shouko in the face. "Hot air balloons!"

"Hot air balloons?!" Shouko gasped before relaxing. "What's that?"

Kagami nearly fell headfirst into the fish pond in disbelief. "Haven't you ever seen a hot air balloon before?"

Shouko shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, they're pretty amazing. You see..." Kagami began to ramble off about hot air balloons, Shouko growing excited with each second. These hot air balloons sounded amazing!

"And I can come?!" Shouko shouted when Kagami was finished with her long-winded explanation. "To see these UFOs?!"

"UFOs?!" Kagami sweatdropped.  _When did I ever mention that hot air balloons were UFOs..._

"From what you said, it sounds a lot like UFOs to me," Shouko told her, nodding her head. "Which means aliens are real!"

"Haaahh?" Kagami tittered. "Well, I don't know about that... but prepare to wake up next Thursday."

"Right!"

* * *

Dressed in a white tee and some jeans, Oikawa kissed his wife on the forehead before quietly heading over to Shouko's room. She was asleep in her bed, snoring softly and out like a light.

"Sho-chan," Oikawa whispered as he tried to shake her awake gently. "Sho-chan, wake up. It's time to go see the hot air balloons."

"Mmrrghh..." Shouko groaned sleepily and turned away from him, slamming the pillow around her head. "Don't wanna..."

Oikawa tried again. "Sho-chan, we're going to see UFOs."

"Ehh...?" Shouko blearily opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. "... Really?"

"Yep. I have your clothes piled at the end of the bed, so hurry and get changed."

More awake now, Shouko nodded and climbed out of her bed, grabbing Uroro the bear with her. "Can Uroro come?"

"Sure."

Shouko quickly got changed into a shirt with blue sleeves and a pair of khaki shorts for kids. Then she picked up Uroro (who she had thrown onto the bed while she was changing) and yawned. "Otou-san... I'm so tired..." She looked as if she were going to fall asleep standing up.

Sighing before smiling, Oikawa picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Shouko yawned one more time before propping her chin on Oikawa's shoulder, falling fast asleep. "UFOs..." she muttered, holding Uroro closer to her body.

Oikawa exited his house to see a car with the headlights on parked outside Iwaizumi's house. Kagami was there and wide awake as she made conversation with a woman Oikawa had never seen before.

"Oh!" The woman noticed Oikawa coming up to them. "You must be Oikawa Tooru. I'm Shimizu Hiyori, Kiyoko's little sister. Nice to meet you." She didn't bother shaking hands with him, seeing as he had his hands full.

"Likewise," Oikawa said with a nod, giving her a charming but not  _too_ charming grin. Then he yawned, eliciting a yawn from Hiyori as well.

"They say yawning is contagious," Kagami managed to say before she too was yawning widely. "Yeesh... I hope okaa-chan remembers to feed Gyoppi-chan today." Then she grew worried. "Hold on, be right back!" Kagami ran back to her house and out the back, where the fish pond was. Then she fed Gyoppi-chan twice the normal amount of food she normally gave him, which was already a lot. "I'll be back tonight, Gyoppi-chan," she promised him. "So hopefully this will keep you sustained until then!"

When Kagami returned, they all hopped in the car, Hiyori driving. Oikawa sat at the back so that Shouko could lay her head on his lap, Kagami choosing to stay awake and take in the sights. It was still dark, but the Iwaizumi girl explained that everything would look amazing come morning light.

The journey took three hours, and Oikawa found himself rather impressed at Hiyori's perseverance. He himself had a hard time not falling asleep. Eventually, Kagami did fall asleep, and Hiyori was left to converse with the only other adult in the car.

"So..." Hiyori said. "You seem a little young to be having a kid."

"Hm?" Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "While I'm flattered, how old do you actually think I am?"

Hiyori shrugged, glancing at him momentarily through the rearview mirror. "I dunno... like, twenty five? Twenty six?"

"Well, aren't you kind," chuckled Oikawa, unable to keep his ego from inflating a bit. "I'll have you know that I'm an old man at the age of thirty."

"WHOA, WHAT?!" Suddenly, the quiet Hiyori shouted at the top of her lungs, causing Kagami to stir. "You... you look like my age! Fresh out of uni!"

"I get that a lot," Oikawa said loftily, smirking. He knew that Hiyori wouldn't be able to see his smug expression too well in the dark. "You should see my wife, actually. Just the other day, a stranger approached her asking if she was lost and if she knew where her parents were." He took off his glasses to rub a stain off the lens before putting them back on.  _Ah, Naachan... I wonder what he thought when you told him you were a Department Head..._

"Wow..." Hiyori was successfully awed. "Damn, that kid of yours must be pretty lucky then. When she's fifty, she'll look like she's thirty. Maann, I wish I had my sister's genes. Everybody tells me I look older than I really am."

"How old are you then? And saying that a lady never reveals her age will not suffice," said Oikawa, shooting down the idea of her age remaining anonymous before she could even reply.

"Fine, fine. I'm twenty three."

"Eh, really?" Oikawa tried not to sound too surprised.  _She's even younger than Sumire! Sumire of all people!_ And yet, Sumire could pass off as a high school student while Hiyori looked as if she was just a few months shy of her thirties. He sweatdropped.  _Better not let her hear me say that..._

"Really," Hiyori affirmed with a groan, wanting to bash her head into the steering wheel. "Oh, I forgot to ask, what's her name?"

"Shouko, but we just call her Sho-chan."

"Aw, that's cute."

About an hour and a half later, dawn approached. The sunlight that flitted through the windows woke Kagami, who blinked twice before straightening in her seat and glancing out the car window. "Wow... I'm just in time. It's beautiful."

"There's nothing but farmland," Oikawa observed, glancing outside his own window as Shouko snored away. "It's a nice change from the suburbs and the city. Don't you think so, Hiyorin?"

"Eh? We getting to nicknames already?" Hiyori said jokingly. "Anyway, yeah, I agree. I live in Tokyo, actually, so this is definitely a nice change. More than that, actually." She sighed dreamily. "Sometimes I wish I could just jump out into that farmland... and eat all the rice in the rice paddies."

Oikawa had definitely not expected that. "Oh, erhm, I see."  _Is she... some kind of psycho?_

"Ahaha, I can tell what you're thinking!" Hiyori laughed. "I just really like rice. Like, seriously, rice is such a great icon. And there's so many different types as well. Personally, I like mixing red rice and purple rice with white rice because of the color it ends up as..." Hiyori passed back a brochure, and Oikawa was half expecting it to be an infomercial on rice and its many uses. Thankfully, it was just a brochure describing the location of the balloon festival.

"It should be around here somewhere," Oikawa said sometime later.

"Over there!" Kagami pointed at a sign, leaning forward. "That's where we park!"

"Ahh, I see. Good eye, Kagami," praised Hiyori as she swerved into the offroad parking. The festival was set in a wide field with no properly constructed roads.

"Yes!" Kagami cheered. "I can't wait to see the hot air balloons!"

As if 'hot air balloons' was a trigger word, Shouko suddenly sat up and declared, "UFOs?! WHERE?!"

"Eh?!" Hiyori cried, her glasses nearly falling off her face as she did a double take. "UFOs?!"

Soon, they were all out of the car and stretching, Shouko running off with Kagami in tow. They passed through the arch that declared that the balloon festival was open, glancing around at some shops before noticing something far more interesting.

Namely, the hot air balloons being set up. There was some yellow police tape around the whole area, preventing Kagami and Shouko from going any further. When Shouko tried to duck underneath the barrier, Kagami chided her gently.

"You can't go beyond this line," Kagami told Shouko, "Otherwise you'll get in trouble."

Shouko pouted. "Aw, why not? Even  _I_ can't go past it?'

Kagami sweatdropped as Oikawa and Hiyori caught up with them. "Yes, even you, Sho-chan."

"You make it sound like you're some kind of VIP," Oikawa commented wryly.

Shouko held up her teddy bear. "URORO IS A VIP! She saved the world from the Teddy Torturer."

"What happened to the Lizard King?" wondered Kagami as they all made their way to the snack stands. "Didn't he help too?"

"Lizard King died," Shouko said solemnly, her head drooping. "Poor, poor Lizard King..."

"Ehhh? How did Lizard King die? Isn't he the main character?"

"Not anymore! Uroro is the main character now."

At the food booth, there were people coming out of the line with a warm bowl of something in their hands. Oikawa passed a bowl to Hiyori before claiming one for himself and encouraging Shouko to collect one as well.

"Here you go," said the kind lady managing the booth. "Some pork miso soup to keep you warm on this cold morning!"

"It's free?" Shouko gasped.  _Wow! Free food!_

"Hm? Oh, yep, it's free. Careful, it's hot." She passed the bowl to Shouko, who beamed and took a gulp of the steaming hot soup.

"WARGH!"

Oikawa sweatdropped. "Sho-chan, you should really listen to what other people say. it's hot so don't drink it all in one gulp like that." He turned to the woman who had served her soup. "Sorry about her."

"Can we go home now?" Shouko asked sometime later, having finished all of her soup.

"Huh? Don't you want to see the UFOs, Sho-chan?" asked Oikawa.

"Oh, right! I remember now..."

Hiyori laughed. "What did you think we came here for, Sho-chan?"

"Umm... miso soup?" Shouko guessed, looking up at Hiyori. "But that was before. I remember the UFOs now." She pointed at a nearby car. "That's going to fly, isn't it?"

"Cars don't fly!" exclaimed Oikawa, scratching the back of his head.

"Then I'll fly!"

"Eh?!"

"Ah, I'm going to get an information pamphlet," Kagami said, "Be right back."

"Throw me around!" demanded Shouko, holding her arms out. Oikawa huffed and took her hands.

"Fine, you asked for it." Then Oikawa proceeded to spin Shouko around and around in the motion of a helicopter blade.

"Ehm, are you sure that's safe?" wondered Hiyori.

"Perfectly safe!" Oikawa answered as Kagami returned with a brochure in her hand.

Eventually, Oikawa let Shouko down, who laughed until her sides hurt. Shouko pointed up at a bank. "Hey, we should go up there for a better view."

"Oh, good idea, Sho-chan," said Kagami, and the two girls climbed up the stairs, Oikawa and Hiyori following close behind. "Wow, the view is really great from here... Look, Sho-chan, they're inflating the balloons."

"Ohh, so that's what they're doing?! Cool!"

Hiyori snapped a few shots of some of the fully inflated balloons. "Ooh, nice..." Just then, a few balloons started to rise in the air, one of them drifting overhead the group of four.

Oikawa craned his neck and tilted his head backward, waving half-heartedly at the person in the basket. The person waved back and Shouko gasped.

"AN ALIEN!" she cried. "OTOU-SAN MADE CONTACT WITH ALIENS!"

"I wish! If only..." Oikawa sighed before smiling.

A few hours later, after all the balloon races were over and lunch was eaten, it was nearly time to go home. Hiyori was about to invite them all back into the car when an announcement was made over the p.a.

_"Starting from now, we're accepting passengers for personal hot air balloon rides. Anyone who wants to ride one should go to the side of the event's headquarters."_

"We so have to ride one!" Kagami declared as a few more hot air balloons drifted past them. "The experience won't be complete if we don't! Please, onee-chan?" She tugged on Hiyori's shirt.

"Well, we have time to kill, so I don't see why not," Hiyori allowed with a shrug. "I'll stay down here and take pictures while you three ride."

"Hey, Sho-chan, go save us a spot," Oikawa instructed, pointing at a white tent.

"Yessir!" Shouko dashed off to the tent just as a swarm of other children attacked the tent from the side, Shouko melding into the crowd. It seemed like Oikawa wasn't the only parent who had had that idea.

When the other three in their group caught up, Shouko reported, "It's 500 yen for kids and 1000 yen for adults." Her eyes flashed with concern. "Can we ride?! Was I fast enough?"

"You did fine, Sho-chan," Oikawa appeased her, ruffling her hair and causing her to laugh. "You should be a track runner when you go to school. Kiyoko-san was one when she was in middle school, you know."

"Waahh... so onee-chan is really fast too?"

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that," said Kagami, looking over to Hiyori. "Is it true?"

"Yeah. Actually, I have a few pictures at home of her running during sports festivals if you want to see them sometime."

"Yes, please!"

After some minutes of waiting, it was finally their turn. Hiyori waved at them to remind them of their presence as they all climbed aboard, Oikawa going first as per protocol. Kagami was next, and finally, Shouko.

"I can't see anything," Shouko complained, unable to peer past the basket.

"Here, stand on my feet," Oikawa said.  _If she's anything like her mother, she'll enjoy doing it..._

"Ohh... that's better."

"Going up!" the man controlling the hot air balloon announced, pulling on something. Instantly, fire erupted above them to fuel the balloon. It was loud and hot and Shouko winced, hugging Oikawa.

"I regret wearing a cardigan," Kagami sighed as sweat began to stick her hair to the back of her neck.  _Gaahhh, it's so hot now._

Hiyori was already snapping pictures, and Oikawa took the opportunity to direct many peace signs and boyish grins at the camera lens.

Then they were off and up in the air. Their whole world became the farmlands in the distance and the beautiful blue of the late afternoon sky.

"Cool... are we going to space?" Shouko demanded. "I want to go to space! And fight aliens!"

"Unfortunately not," Oikawa answered, smiling fondly down at her. "We need a rocket or a space-shuttle to go to space and fight aliens. Not to mention a light saber..."

The ride was over far too quickly and they were down on the ground once again.

"That was fun!" Kagami said as she and Shouko climbed out of the basket. "We should go again some time..."

"Hey, Oikawa, you're pretty good at this picture stuff," Hiyori said as she showed him the photos. "Have you considered a career in modelling?"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I think it's a bit too late for that..."  _Ah, if only..._

"Hey, look at that!" Shouko pointed up to where a paraglider had just taken off. "He's flying without a UFO! Is he an alien?" Before her question could be answered, the man paragliding started dropping something to the ground. "Huh?"

"It's candy!" Kagami exclaimed. "Come on, Sho-chan, let's go get some!"

"Wow! The alien is giving out candy!"

The two girls ran off again, joining a crowd of other kids all following the paraglider so that trails of candy fell into their palms. Oikawa snorted. "Those kids are so naive."

"How so?" queried Hiyori.

"Those kids are just chasing behind it," Oikawa stated. "They're not looking ahead to where it's actually going next." He let out a condescending sigh. "Kids will be kids..."

"Well, if you're so smart, why don't you put your theory to the test?" Hiyori challenged.

"Fine, I will. Watch me steal all the candy from those kids! Ahahaha! FOR THE CANDY!" Then Oikawa charged off, leaving Hiyori in his wake. He observed the paraglider as he ran and went to where he would be going next. A piece of candy fell into his open palms. "Heh. Hey, Hiyorin, did you see that—GYAK!" He was knocked out of the way and trampled as a stampede of children howled and shrieked, chasing after the raining candy.

Hiyori sweatdropped.  _It looks like a reenactment of the Lion King death scene from here..._

Oikawa returned to Hiyori with a footprint on his face, scowling. "I didn't get a single piece..."  _Those little demons!_

Hiyori patted his shoulder sympathetically, snickering. "Geez, don't lose to kids, that's so sad..."

* * *

After a long day, they finally returned home, Hiyori bidding them goodbye. She was to drive all the way back to Tokyo despite how late it was. Oikawa carried Uroro and Shouko as he fumbled for the keys to his house, cursing softly when he couldn't reach them.

But then the door opened.

"Mako-chan," Oikawa greeted, letting Naoko take the sleeping Shouko in her arms. He gave her a tired smile. "You'd never believe what happened today..."

"Does it have anything to do with the shoeprint on your face?" inquired Naoko, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

Oikawa groaned at the reminder of his failure. "Don't ask. Let's just say that kids don't hold back when it comes to candy."

"You mean to say that  _kids_ did that to you?" She poked his face and he hissed in pain. "Geez, when did you become so old..."

"Mako-chan!" he whined, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to him. He buried his face into her hair, inhaling her welcoming scent. "Mrrphh... you should have gone, not me... I'm so tired and sore."

"Oh, stop complaining, you'll live." Naoko allowed him to kiss her once before they went upstairs to lay Shouko on the bed. She'd wake her up later for a bath. "Did you have fun?"

"Hardly," huffed Oikawa. Naoko raised both eyebrows.

"Really, now?"

"... Fine, it was fun. Hiyorin said she's going to give me some pictures that she took of us in the balloon." He closed the door to Shouko's room behind them. "She'll probably send them to us next week."

"That's good. They can go along with the other photos." She sighed as they entered their own bedroom. "Sorry for calling you old before... I feel just as old as you are."

"It's okay—hey, wait." Oikawa narrowed his eyes. "Why do I sense a very well hidden insult in your apology?"

Naoko shrugged, a wry smile on her face. "I think you're just imagining things in your old age."

"You're always so mean to me," he whined, pushing her against the bed and cuddling her. "Why..."

"Because  _someone_  has to keep your ego in check."

"Two things. One: rude. Two: shut up."

She smiled as he kissed her.  _Some things never change..._


	6. One Summer's Day

_The most important influence in my childhood was my father._

—  _DeForest Kelley_

* * *

Kagami cycled through town, enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon. The sun warmed her back as she pedaled, dodging parked cars, plants, and small children running around.

"Hey." Kagami halted her bike to tune into a conversation two middle schoolers were having with each other. The boy was addressing the girl. "Summer vacation went by pretty quick... have you started studying for finals yet?"

"Haha, I'm afraid not," replied the girl, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly and sweatdropping. "There's still ten days left of summer vacation... that should be enough time to catch up, right? Also, it's better to think of the remaining days as another separate vacation."

The boy sighed, "Man, you're so irresponsible..."

The conversation ended there and Kagami cycled away, their words echoing in her mind.  _They're right,_ she thought.  _Summer went by pretty quick, huh? I sure did have lots of fun this summer... sometimes I wish it could last forever._

She slowed down in front of a florist, giving the elderly woman who ran the store an enthusiastic "good morning" before speeding up again.  _Let's see, the bakery should be just around the corner. Oh, there it is!_ She parked her bike outside in a place that wouldn't obstruct anyone and entered the bakery.

"Good morning, Jun!" Kagami greeted, her voice drowning out the bell on the top of the door.

"Kagami, nice to see you again!" Jun returned from behind the counter, smiling amiably. She was a high school student that worked at the bakery as a part timer. "How can I help you today?"

"I'll have a bag of melonpan loaves please." Kagami pulled out her wallet from the bag that she slung on her shoulders, giving Jun the appropriate amount of yen for it. Jun spent a few moments counting it up before passing her a bag of melonpan. "Thank you, Jun."

"You're welcome, Kagami. Come back soon and don't be a stranger, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

They both laughed before Kagami left the store and placed the melonpan bread in her bike basket. Now it was time to head to the high rise apartment that Haruhi lived in, which would take about another fifteen minutes on bike.

Cicadas and other insects started to buzz when she took a detour in the park, a few green and yellow leaves falling on her hair and shoulders as she passed under some zelkova trees.

"Oh, that's right," she said to herself, "I just remembered that they're pushing forward the Sendai Standoff to the end of summer vacation this year. According to the news columns, there's going to be a fireworks show as well." Kagami grinned. "Man, that's really exciting... I wish I could play an instrument so I could compete."

She exited the park through a side entrance and continued to cycle leisurely. Ten minutes later, she was stopping her bike outside the lobby of Haruhi's home (a home to hundreds of other residents as well). Kagami pressed the buzzer for Haruhi's place and a familiar voice buzzed through the intercom.

 _"Who is it?"_ Bokuto Koutarou said chipperly.

"Iwaizumi Kagami speaking," Kagami replied just as cheerfully. "Can I come in, Bokuto-san? I'm here to see Haruhi."

 _"Haruhi mentioned something like that. Did you know she dyed her hair to match mine?!"_ Kagami could practically hear the love for his daughter in his voice.  _"I'll send her down to the lobby to get you so you can see for yourself!"_

"Okay, thanks!"

_Click._

Moments later, Kagami entered the lobby to wait for Haruhi, who arrived within a minute. Haruhi had indeed dyed black streaks in her roots of her hair to match Bokuto's, and while it wasn't so spiked up like her father's, Kagami could definitely see more resemblance between the two.

"Uwaah! Your hair!" Kagami exclaimed as Haruhi went up to her and linked arms with her, grinning. "Gosh, you look like a kid version of your dad!"

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Haruhi snickered, letting Kagami run her fingers through her hair.

"Only if you find your dad insulting for the last bit."

"Compliment it is then."

They went up the lift to the seventeenth floor, where the Bokuto's resided in room 1705.

"I keep forgetting how big this place is," Kagami murmured as they exited the elevator and walked down the hallway. "Your dad played in the Olympics last year, right?"

"Mmhm. Didn't win but his team was pretty damn close. Otou-san, we're back!" Haruhi opened the door and was instantly greeted with a gigantic hug from her father. "Mrrppgghh! Otou-san, stop!"

"Hey, hey, Kagami-chan!" Bokuto said, ignoring Haruhi's protests for the meantime.

Kagami smiled. "Hi, Bokuto-san."

"Otou-san! Let me gooo!"

"Not until you say 'I love you'," Bokuto replied teasingly, ruffling his daughter's hair.

"I love you, I love you, okay?! Don't suffocate meee!"

Bokuto let her go and Haruhi took a deep exaggerated breath for air. "Ooft... otou-san, I don't believe any of the crap you say about you getting old..."

Kagami laughed when Bokuto stuck his tongue out at Haruhi immaturely. "I brought you two some melonpan. It's not any yakiniku, Bokuto-san, but I hope it'll do." She showed them the bag of loaves and their eyes lit up in delight.

"Ooh! Thanks, Kagami-chan, you're the best." Bokuto snuck a look at his daughter, smirking. "Ah, if only my  _own daughter_  could buy me melonpan..."

Haruhi made a face. "Otou-san, she bought it for both of us, not just you! Sorry about that, Kagami-chan."

"Hey, don't apologize for me!" Bokuto huffed. "I'm the dad here, remember?"

"Ooh, yeah, I remember, alright," Haruhi said, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation. The two girls went to her room, where they both made themselves comfortable on her bed. Haruhi lay on one side while Kagami sat cross-legged at the end of the bed.

"Have you heard?" Haruhi asked after some meaningless conversation. "About this year's Sendai Standoff?"

"The fireworks show? Yeah, I've heard."

"Not only that." Haruhi grinned and held up a finger, her eyes gleaming in that 'I know something that you don't' manner. "This year, they're inviting back past winners for an exhibition round!"

Kagami gasped. "Wow, really?! That's so cool! My okaa-chan said that our family is going this year. Are you going as well?"

"Yep! Me and otou-san and some of his volleyball friends. Like Ushiwaka and Kageyama!" She squealed, a sound that Kagami rarely heard coming from the girl. "I can't wait to see all of them! Otou-san never takes me to his volleyball games... even if they're friendly matches. Says that he doesn't want me hurting myself trying to copy their moves." Haruhi shrugged. "He's probably right, to be honest. I tried to do a delayed spike the other day and ended up rolling my ankle."

"Oh my. Is it better now?"

"It aches a little but I can walk on it." Haruhi sighed. "Just no volleyball practice for another week... maybe two if I don't rest it enough." She tore some melonpan and popped it into her mouth, chewing. "Say, this is pretty good. Freshly baked?"

"You know it." Haruhi passed Kagami the loaf she had torn some bread from, allowing Kagami to tear a piece off as well. "I wonder if we'll get to personally meet any of the previous winners of the Standoff..."

"What makes you think of that?"

"Well, our dads are pretty famous volleyball players.  _Your_ dad has gone to the Olympics with Ushiwaka, Kageyama, that Guess Monster dude, and more famous volleyball names... and my dad played in a lot of national tournaments before he married my mom and adopted me. Maybe they'll get some special treatment?"

"Doubt it," said Haruhi, who had been nodding along until the last bit. "Musicians and sports stars don't really mix, if you know what I mean? I mean, have you ever heard of a musician marrying a volleyball player?" She chuckled. "I know that I haven't."

Kagami leaned back against the wall—the bed was pressed to the side of the room—and hummed thoughtfully. "You never know. I bet there's got to be at least  _one_ musician that married a volleyball player."

"Probably, but I don't think we'll find any in Sendai, or even Miyagi. You know what'd be funny, though? If you actually lived next door to a couple that was a volleyball player and a musician! And they had a super talented kid or something!"

"Don't be silly, Haru-chan." Kagami chuckled. "If only..."

* * *

Oikawa frowned and Naoko looked up from her breakfast. "What?"

"Nothing," Oikawa replied hesitantly. "Just that... I feel like I've challenged the Gods of Irony."

Naoko raised her eyebrows high. "Really, now? The Gods of Irony?"

"Don't give me that patronizing look!" huffed Oikawa, pouting. "It's just this feeling I get, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Naoko quickly finished the rest of her food before getting up. "I'm going to town today. I have to meet up with someone at J-Mall. Look after Sho-chan, okay? Don't let her bring acorns back into our house again if you take her out."

"Yes, ma'am," Oikawa said jokingly. "And I was thinking of taking her to the shrine today. Maybe buy her a souvenir fan or even a golden poo charm."

Naoko made a noncommittal noise. "I never got the point of those things... golden shit... our culture really amazes me sometimes." She shook her head before kissing her husband on the corner of his mouth. "Later."

When she left the house, she caught Kiyoko watering her flowers in front of her house, wearing a wide brim hat and gloves. "Kiyoko," Naoko called out. "Good morning."

"Ah. Good morning, Naoko." Kiyoko smiled at her and Naoko suddenly understood why Yachi Hitoka had a girl crush on her in high school. "Where are you going?"

"The Marsbucks at J-Mall," Naoko said, giving the other woman a small smile of her own. "I'm meeting an old friend."

"Oh, yeah?" Kiyoko tilted her watering can to shower more water on her plants. "If you don't mind me asking, who?"

At that, Naoko hesitated. Then she said, "Charlene Cho."

Kiyoko's eyes widened marginally. "I see."

"Mm. She's not the only one either. Sumire and the Piano Princes, Takahiro Yuu and Haruto, are going to be there as well. We're all going to be doing something for the exhibition round at this year's Sendai Standoff."

"That's pretty amazing, Naachan. I won't keep you any longer."

After bidding goodbye to Kiyoko, Naoko walked the short distance to the Oikawa family's garage, where she proceeded to start up her car and drive into town.  _It's been so many years since Cho and I last spoke. Hopefully, the presence of Sumire and the Piano Princes will be enough for her not to focus all her attention on me..._

It wasn't long until Naoko got to J-Mall, parked, and made her way down to Marsbucks.  _I wonder if she'll insist on paying for the food like last time._ She tightened her grip on her handbag.  _I won't let her. I may not be as rich as her, but I'm no longer so poor as to accept charity._ Both her's and Oikawa's careers had really taken off in the past few years, and her family was living comfortably.

Tadashi, her brother, was now a respectable oncologist, able to provide for himself and his boyfriend (though he considered him to be his husband, as did most others).

Sumire had graduated with honors and was working as one of the youngest computer analysts in Tokyo, pulling in over 6,500,000 yen a year with Kageyama adding to their income 4,299,569 yen, the average salary for a professional volleyball player. And while they still lived in a small studio apartment that they'd had since their university days, it spoke nothing of the riches they had.

The Makoshimas—because no matter who they married, their Makoshima bloodline would not be forgotten—were no longer poor. Her  _family_ was no longer poor.

Naoko composed herself before entering Marsbucks, instantly spotting the orange head of Takahiro Haruto at a far table. He was sitting next to his brother, Yuu, and both had their backs facing to her. Cho, on the other hand, was sitting opposite them, meaning that she had a perfect view of Naoko coming in. The idol smiled and waved at Naoko. Well into her thirties, Cho was definitely not as young as she used to be, but she had clinched many acting roles during her prime, leading her on a road of even more popularity. She wasn't retiring just yet thanks to some gigs as a voice actress for mainstream anime.

"Naoko!" Cho greeted cheerfully, standing up and giving the younger woman a hug, which Naoko half-heartedly returned. "My goodness, you've gotten taller! And you look so beautiful with makeup. Don't you think so, boys?" She grabbed Naoko by the shoulders and all but forcefully turned her to face the Takahiro brothers' direction.

Haruto grinned. "She sure is, Cho." When Yuu didn't say anything, Haruto elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing Yuu to roll his eyes.

"Yes," he said stiffly before relaxing. "Womanhood suits you well, Naoko-san."

"Thank you," Naoko replied simply before sitting down next to Cho. The table was round and there was one more seat left for Sumire. "I take it that my sister hasn't arrived yet?'  _Typical Sumire. Though, to be fair, she does have to take a train all the way down from Tokyo._

"Unfortunately not, which means we should all eat first before we get into discussing things," Cho said in a tone that left no room for argument. "I'll pay for everything—"

"No," Naoko and Yuu said in unison, giving each other a glance.

"We're perfectly capable of paying for our own meals, Cho-san," Yuu said frostily, raising an eyebrow. Daring her to challenge him.

Naoko nodded in agreement. "You don't need to spend money on us, Cho-san. Really."

Haruto bit his lip, hoping with all his heart that an argument wouldn't break out between the three. Yuu cut a pretty imposing figure, as did Naoko, but Cho was powerful in her own right as well.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Cho  _laughed_. "You guys!" She smacked Naoko and Yuu on their backs, making the latter lurch forward and glare. "I insist, really! Now sit your butts down and let me pay. I invited you all here, so it's only polite! I don't think any less of you if that's what you're worried about."

Suddenly, Naoko felt the tension in her shoulders release. Casting Yuu one last look, she sat back down. "If you insist..."

Yuu grunted before also sitting down.

A waiter was called over, and Naoko ordered her favorite Mocha-Matcha Blitz as well as well as a raspberry and cream cake that Yuu recommended all of them to try. Only Haruto declined, preferring to stick with a classic chocolate cake.

"I swear, if this is about you thinking that raspberry is a flavor for pansy asses," Yuu began before Haruto cut him off.

"No, that's not it! You know that I hate raspberry." He paused before a shit-eating grin appeared on his handsome features. "Not going to lie though, it's a flavor for pansy asses."

Yuu merely glared in response. The food arrived just as Sumire did, looking a little frazzled.

"You look as if you've been shoved into a sardine can," Naoko remarked, and Sumire stuck her tongue out at her.

"I was on a train full of people, okay?" Sumire passed her hand through her hair before shaking Cho's hand. "Sorry I'm late. The commute was—"

"I understand," Cho said genially.

After Sumire got reacquainted with the Takahiro brothers and their cakes were all finished, it was time to get down to business. They all offered ideas on what to do but all of them just ended up coming back to the original idea that Cho had put forward: a reprise of the famous violin-piano duel they had done all those eleven years ago.

"Again?" Sumire said, cocking an eyebrow. "But people have already seen that kind of thing before."

"Actually, only the people who attended did," Cho corrected. "There were no TV cameras around, unlike this year—I swear, nowadays, kids are so reliant on technology—so only people who attended it live actually saw what went down. The younger generation actually haven't seen anything like this before, so I think that this could work really well."

"Are we going to play the same songs as last time?" Haruto inquired.

"If you want," Cho answered, "Last time, you did everything on the fly, which is very impressive. I'm sure all four of you share knowledge of the same songs if things keep going our way."

"Still, it's better to be prepared," Yuu said, "Luck is merely a combination of preparation and taking opportunities when they present themselves."

"I was thinking that we should go with Flight of the Bumblebee again, this time as our opening song," Naoko pitched. "It's fast-paced and will give us a strong start to get the audience enthused for the actual competition and exhibition acts to follow."

"Pretty lady has a point." Haruto winked at her, which she did not deign with an outward reaction. "Flight of the Bumblebee it is then. Any others?"

They all pitched in song ideas, and, in the end, four songs were chosen by each of the stakeholders.

"Thanks for coming, everyone!" Cho said before standing up and bowing. She lifted her head and gave them a thumbs up. "I have other matters to take care of, so it's goodbye until the competition. I expect you all to be performing at your peaks on the day of the Standoff. Good luck!"

Farewells until next time were exchanged, and the Takahiro brothers and the Makoshima sisters went their separate ways.

"Hey, nee-chan, you should come with me to Tokyo," Sumire suddenly suggested, grinning. "You haven't been back there for a long time." Before Naoko could even consider declining, Sumire continued, "You don't have to stay long. It's just, well..." She shrugged. "I've missed you."

"Really, now?"

"Uh huh. And even if you're going to say no—actually, scratch that, I  _know_ you are—why don't you call up your friends and go shopping with them or something? I know most of them still live around the area. I mean, Maru and I go out all the time." Sumire sighed. "You've grown stagnant ever since you had Shouko. I think it's time for you to have fun for a change. I mean, even Tooru-nii heads out with his volleyball friends every weekend. Kiyoko's pretty much your best friend, but don't forget that you have other friends too."

Naoko gave her a long look before nodding curtly. "I'll think about it."

"Welp, I guess that's the best you could give me. I'll see you around, nee-chan." Sumire gave Naoko a hug before disappearing into the crowd toward the train station.

 _My friends, huh?_ Naoko thought as she sat down in the driver's seat of her car.  _... She's right. I haven't talked to any of them for a long, long time._ She started her car but didn't move it, letting the blast of air conditioner cool her face as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through the few contacts she had.

Then she pressed on a name to call.

_"Hello?"_

Naoko hesitated before replying, "Anzu? It's me."

* * *

_**After Naoko left...** _

"Where are you taking me, otou-san?" Shouko asked as he took her by the hand and walked her down the streets. Little Shouko was wearing the same yukata she had worn on the night of the local summer festival.

"The shrine," Oikawa answered amiably. "Remember when you got your fortunes told on the summer festival? We're going to do something similar."

"Oh, cool!" Then she drooped. "That reminds me... I lost the fortune Haruhi gave me..."

"Aw, it's okay." He ruffled her hair with his free hand. "We can get you a new, better one."

"But Haruhi said that middle fortune's the best one to get."

"Bah!" Oikawa scoffed. "If it was the best one, it wouldn't be called middle fortune, would it?"

Shouko gaped at him for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Oh, yeah, that makes sense! Otou-san is so smart."

Oikawa grinned at her. "Oh, I know..."

But Shouko wasn't done. "Even so, otou-san couldn't get a single piece of space candy from the flying alien..."

Feeling the child-sized footprint on his face again, Oikawa winced and cried, "T-that meant to happen! Flying alien candy is dangerous. Why do you think you never saw those kids again? They all got food poisoning and died."  _Actually, it's probably because we live over three hours away, but dying works as well._

Shouko gasped in horror, her eyes widening. "WHAT?! B-but..." She looked at her hands. "I ate one... and Kagamin ate two... DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE GONNA DIE?! I DON'T WANNA DIE! THE CICADA QUEEN WILL HARVEST MY SOUL!"

"EHH?! CICADA QUEEN?!" Oikawa did a double take at that.  _Where did that come from?!_ Then he recalled Sumire wearing a mask and declaring herself to be the Cicada Queen.  _Ah, right... that. Of course._ "Sho-chan, the Cicada Queen isn't going to harvest your soul."

They stopped at a pedestrian light, and Shouko sniffed. "Am I going to die?"

 _... Dammit, now I feel bad for lying to her._ "No, Sho-chan," Oikawa placated her, allowing her to hug his leg tightly as a car drove past. The light turned green and the two Oikawas crossed the road. "Alien candy won't hurt you or Kagami-chan. They only hurt bad kids, you see. All those greedy kids from the festival were bad kids."

"Oohhh... okay. Are you sure?"

"Yep. But you're a good girl, aren't you, Sho-chan?"

"I am, I am!" She giggled when Oikawa picked her up and tossed her in the air after reaching the other side of the crossing. He caught her again and she nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

At the shrine, there were a few people milling about, most shrine maidens selling souvenirs to foreigners that insisted on experiencing Japanese culture at its finest. Personally, Oikawa thought that the two white males looked ridiculous in their kimonos and cone hats.  _How embarrassing,_ he thought.  _At least they're not running around like maniacs_ —

The tourists started to whoop and run around like maniacs.

 _Well, fuck,_ Oikawa groaned inwardly.  _What a bunch of disrespectful assholes._ One of them threw a plush  _pokeball_ at a Japanese person.  _It's like they don't even see us as people..._

"Otou-san, they're scary..." Shouko whimpered when one of them got close.

"Don't look at them," Oikawa said in a clipped tone, picking up his daughter again and carrying her to another section of the shrine area.  _Miserable bastards. They'd better not fucking touch Sho-chan._

Luckily, the disrespectful tourists didn't, and Shouko happily took a fortune from a fortune dip provided. She frowned at the plastic. "... I can't see my fortune through it."

Oikawa laughed. "Sho-chan, that's not how it works."

"I know. Haruhi and Kagamin told me but I can't help it!" Shouko pouted in the signature Oikawa way. "I want a good fortune!" Huffily, she put the fortune back and stuck her hand in the dip again, pulling out a different one. Gulping, she pulled the plastic apart and took out the fortune. "WOW! Middle fortune again!" She grinned at Oikawa, determined. "I'll make sure not to lose it this time!"

"You do that," encouraged Oikawa, taking out a fortune for himself. He smiled. "Well, what do you know, I got middle fortune as well."

"Really?! High five, otou-san!" Shouko held out her hand and Oikawa gleefully slapped it.

"Down low!" Oikawa instructed, placing his hand lower than his hips.

Shouko smacked his hand, excited. "Yeah!"

They both laughed and Shouko threw herself onto Oikawa, wrapping her short legs around his longer ones. "Otou-san is amazing!" she declared, hugging him tightly like a cicada would a tree. "I love you, otou-san."

Oikawa's gaze softened as he felt his heart explode after being overwhelmed by sheer love for the girl. He rubbed her head affectionately, her hair soft and fluffy like his own. "I love you too, Sho-chan."

She let go of him and beamed up at him. "Can we go buy a golden poo charm?! Kagamin has one and it's so, so cool!"

"Heh, okay. Hey—gak!—slow down, Sho-chan, don't run and fall into the koi pond!"

"Eek!" Shouko tripped over her sandals and would have fallen headfirst into the water full of fish had Oikawa not caught her. "Wow, that was close...!"

Oikawa huffed out a sigh and shook his head as he pulled his daughter upright again. "Silly, Sho-chan," he chided gently as she whined.  _Oh, Sho-chan, sometimes I wish you'd never grow up._

 


	7. Unforgettable

_The moments we share are the moments we keep forever._

—  _Author Unknown_

* * *

"About time you decided to come back to earth," Anzu said snidely, stirring her coffee with a teaspoon as she observed Naoko, who was sitting opposite her on the cafe table. "I haven't seen your kid since she was a baby." A hurt look flashed on her face before she scowled again. "Why? Listen, I know we weren't always on the best terms during high school, but I at least liked to think that we were... friends."

"We were," Naoko affirmed, meeting her gaze evenly. "But when I got promoted..." She hesitated. "I started to... worry."

Anzu raised a perfectly drawn eyebrow. "About?"

"My new position as a Department Head. I worked as hard as I could so I could maintain it, because," it was then she sounded a little ashamed of herself, "I was worried about money again."

The red-haired girl frowned. "After all these years, and it's still about money." She sighed in an aggravated manner. "I guess old demons are hard to chase away. And for the record, all our friends still miss you. Well, most of them, anyway. You can't expect to maintain friendships after high school."

Naoko gave a noncommittal grunt. "Of course not. In an ideal world, it would be. But in our world, not so much. I'm surprised you even agreed to meet me."

"I'm just as surprised as you are." Anzu sneered at her. "And even more surprised that you chose me of all people. Speaking of, I really am curious about that. Care to enlighten me?"

"If you insist," Naoko answered evenly. "I called you because you were the only one that I trusted would give me their time of day."

"Oho? And how does that work?"

Naoko smirked. "Because I know you're always ready for an opportunity to berate me."

Anzu snorted before sipping her coffee. "You could put it less bluntly, you know. But enough about us. What's been happening with Shouko all these years?"

"She's nearly five now," Naoko said, her voice softening slightly. "I... have regrets when it comes to her. I wish I'd spend more time with her than with my colleagues and subordinates..."

"Well, you can still amend that. Just don't let time go by. Kids nowadays grow up way too fast. She'll be an adult before you know it."

"Uh huh..." Naoko went on to describe Shouko to her, speaking fondly of her antics and her friendship with the girl next door, Kagami. She talked of Shouko's new friend, Bokuto Haruhi, as well, before telling Anzu about her current lifestyle. In return, Anzu told her all about her relationship with Akane and their dancing adventures. Just last year, they'd gone to Russia for a figure skating exhibition.

"We met with one of the most famous skaters in the world," Anzu said, looking proud of herself. "Victor Nikiforov."

"Never heard of him."

Anzu rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything less from a brute like you. You might be a fancy Department Head, but you'll always be a cave woman at heart."

Naoko cocked an eyebrow. "You'd best not forget what this 'cave woman' can do to you."

Anzu grimaced. "I see you're still not above using childish threats..."

"... I was kidding, Anzu," Naoko deadpanned. "I'm twenty eight, not sixteen."

"And for that, I'm glad. God, you were pretty fucking terrifying as a sixteen year old. Sometimes I wonder how I'm still alive considering how much I used to bitch at you."

"To be fair, the feeling was mutual." They both shared a chuckle at that.

An hour later, it was time for them to part ways.

"I'll see you around," Anzu farewelled, putting on her sunglasses. "You cold, cold bitch."

"Same goes for you, you fire breathing skank."

* * *

When Naoko got home and eagerly took off her shoes (heels were a megabitch to walk with), she nearly toppled over from having both her husband and her daughter (who had changed out of her yukata and back into her normal everyday clothes) cling to her in a hug.

"What's the occasion?" Naoko wondered as Oikawa kissed her temple. "Tooru? Sho-chan? You act like you haven't seen me for ages."

"Oh, nothing," Oikawa replied, squishing her cheek against his own. "I just realized what a beautiful family we are."

"... Okay, what did you do? Did you break my favorite mug or something?"

"Of course not!" both of them denied vehemently.

Shouko continued to hug her mother's front, blinking up at her. "We just want to show how much we love you, kaa-chan."

"I..." Her eyes softened as she scooped up her daughter in her arms. "I see. You two know that I love you too, right?"

Oikawa snickered. "Duh."

"Mmhm!" Shouko nodded. "Hey, kaa-chan, what's for dinner?"

"It's still pretty early," Naoko noted, "So why don't we all go out grocery shopping? I was thinking to make a curry of some sort."  _Knowing how much she loves curry..._

"OOH, YUMMY!" Shouko cheered before frowning. "As long as it's not the  _fake_ curry again..."

Oikawa sweatdropped. "Sho-chan, hashed beef isn't fake curry."  _That's rude..._

Together, the family of three went back out the door again, closing their front gate behind them as they decided to walk the way to the supermarket. The cicadas were buzzing loudly as the sun set on the horizon, turning the sky orange and the clouds pink.

"It looks like," Shouko said as she craned her neck, "Pink creaming soda..."

"It looks more like passion fruit soda with some pink froth to me," Oikawa retorted, also looking upward momentarily.

"I prefer melon soda," said Naoko, thinking they were talking about their favorite sodas. When her husband and daughter stared at her, puzzled, she blushed slightly. "What? Is melon soda too boring or something?"  _But I like melon soda... even better than orange soda._

"No, just that," Oikawa chuckled, nudging his wife, "melon soda is green, Mako-chan."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, otou-san is right!" added Shouko. "Melon soda is green like aliens! It's what aliens drink!"

Now it was Naoko's turn to be confused. "... I don't think we're talking about the same things anymore."

"You know what, I don't think we are either," agreed Oikawa, letting the subject of sodas drop. It was only thirty seconds later of mulling things over that Naoko realized that they had been talking about what kind of drink the sky reminded them of. She grimaced, and Oikawa shot her an inquiring glance.

"Are you constipated or something?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No. Just... never mind."

"Haha, okaa-chan needs to go poop!" Shouko laughed.

"Oi, no I don't," Naoko muttered. "Don't say things like that in public, Sho-chan."

"Oops, sorry..." Then Shouko dropped her voice into a whisper. "Did it already come out?"

"Sho-chan!" Naoko exclaimed, frowning.

Oikawa guffawed, his sides hurting from holding in his laughter. "Gahaha—Naachan, you should have seen your face! Good job, Sho-chan." He held out his hand for a high five, which Shouko gladly smacked with vigor.

Naoko sighed in fond exasperation. "Ah, you two... you're bad influences on each other."

Oikawa pouted. "How mean, Mako-chan."

They arrived a few minutes later at the supermarket with still some light to spare. It wouldn't be completely dark until an hour passed by.

"We should get some onions too," Naoko said as Oikawa dumped a bag of carrots into the trolley. "Also two cloves of garlic."

"I'll get some!" Shouko said, returning with the needed ingredients a few moments later. "What else do we need, okaa-chan?"

"Some meat would be nice," Oikawa answered for his wife. "Can't have a curry without meat, right?"

"Ooh, right! What kind of meat should we get?"

"Beef would be nice," Naoko said in a musing tone, "What do you think, Sho-chan?"

The excited look on Shouko's face spoke volumes and she gave her parents a quick salute before leading the way to the packaged meat section.

In the meat section, it just so happened that Haruhi and Kagami were there as well. Before they had gotten here, Kagami had called home to tell her parents that she would be staying at the Bokuto's overnight for a sleepover and for some yakiniku dinner. Iwaizumi, knowing how much of a killer yakiniku Bokuto could whip up, readily agreed. Bokuto could be irresponsible at times, but he could be trusted when it came to looking after the two girls.

"Some beef tongue would be great," Haruhi said, pointing at a slab of red meat. Kagami nodded in agreement and took the meat, placing it in the basket that Haruhi held. Haruhi looked down at the list her father had given her. "Okay, awesome, that was the last thing we needed!"

"Alright, let me just get my wallet, and..." Kagami trailed off, her face paling.

Haruhi shot her a look. "What?"

"I... might have left the money your dad gave us back at the apartment..."

"Aughh, seriously?!" Haruhi groaned in frustration. "Great, now we have to put everything back..."

Kagami laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."

But Haruhi waved her off good-naturedly. "Ehh, it's fine. I just hope we can get back before dark or else otou-san will have to accompany us."

"Kagamin! Haruhi!" Suddenly, Shouko was there too, beaming up at them. "What are you doing here?"

"We're buying meat for tonight's dinner," Kagami said before hanging her head. "But I accidentally left the money back at Haruhi's place. Ahhh... I feel so stupid."

"Hmm..." Shouko hummed thoughtfully. "I think I know what to do!"

Haruhi blinked. "Really?"

To the girls' horror, Shouko marched up to an elderly woman browsing some chicken, beamed at her, and said, "Can you lend us some money, please?"

"Gaah, Sho-chan!" cried a mortified Kagami, hiding her red face in her hands.

"Don't ask for money from strangers like that," Haruhi chided, also blushing as she grabbed Shouko's arm and pulled her away from the old lady. "S-sorry about that..."

Thankfully, the lady just laughed it off. "It's fine, really." Haruhi noticed that she quickly grabbed what she was looking for before waddling off to the checkouts to pay.

"Sho-chan, you can't ask for money from people you don't know," Kagami repeated Haruhi's lecture much more calmly. "Okay?"

Shouko nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay."

At that moment, Naoko and Oikawa rounded the corner, having stopped for a while to pick out some peppers.

"Oh, good, Sho-chan, you're still here," Naoko said as she pushed the trolley over to where the girls were standing. "And I see you've met up with your friends as well. Have you picked out the meat yet?"

"This one!" Shouko declared, holding up some packaged beef cubes.

Oikawa took the meat from her. "Very nice," he complimented, smiling down at her. "It's got just the right ratio of fat to meat."

Haruhi and Kagami exchanged a glance before bowing and blurting out in unison at the Oikawas, "LEND US SOME MONEY, PLEASE!"

"Eehh?"

* * *

The doors of the supermarket opened and the Oikawas and Kagami and Haruhi all walked out, talking animatedly.

"Thanks so much for paying for our dinner," said Haruhi, looking a bit sheepish. "I'll make sure to pay you back..."

"Don't worry too much about it," Oikawa told her, "Though that would be nice..."

Naoko elbowed him sharply and he winced.

"Oh, that reminds me of something!" Kagami suddenly said, perking up and giving Shouko a quick glance. "Can Sho-chan come with us to the Sendai Standoff this year?"

"Hn?" Naoko straightened a bit. "Who's 'us', Kagami-chan?"

"Oh, er," Haruhi said, "My dad, his volleyball friends, and Kagami's family."

"Oho~" Oikawa mused. "I don't see why not... it's been a while since we were all last together. I think a reunion is long overdue."  _Tetsuro and Koutarou are going to be there, huh? Which means Tobio-chan and Ushiwaka_ _as well._ And, of course, he couldn't forget Iwaizumi.

"Reunion?" Kagami and Haruhi echoed.

"Oh, yeah. We've all played against or with each other at least once. And we were..." Oikawa paused. "Friends. At least, most of us were anyway." He could tolerate and maybe even  _like_ Kageyama seeing as they were technically brothers-in-law, and while Kuroo and Bokuto were as thick as thieves, they got along fine with pretty much everyone, including Oikawa. Ushiwaka... well, he'd just have to see. They'd never gotten very close, the top ace preferring to stay closer to his former teammates from Shiratorizawa.

"That's so cool," Haruhi said, blinking. "I never knew that you knew all of those people... hey, Sho-chan, your dad is pretty cool."

"Why, thank you," Oikawa chuckled, Shouko shouting her agreement.

"So, back to the question, is your family coming, Oikawa-san?" Kagami said to Naoko.

"Yes, we are," Naoko responded shortly, "We're all going to the Standoff." How could she not when the competition organizers had personally invited her and Sumire back to perform in the exhibition round with the Takahiro Piano Princes?

"That's great!" Kagami smiled. "This is going to be fun... don't you think, Sho-chan?"

Shouko readily agreed, as did Haruhi, and the Oikawas and the two girls went their separate ways. It was still light out, if only barely, when Oikawa, Naoko, and Shouko arrived back at home. Dinner was made in no time and the three family members all sat at the table with their meals in front of them.

"Thanks for the food!" After that was said, they all dug in.

"You were pretty quick to agree to Kagami-chan's request," Oikawa said casually after swallowing a mouthful of vegetables. "I know you try to hide it, but you have an ego too." He smirked. "Would I be right in guessing that you were insulted?"

"Hardly," Naoko said evenly. "I suppose I just expected her to know that I'm going to be the ones performing too."

"You are?" Shouko gaped at her before getting out of her chair and standing between her mother and father. "Even I didn't know that...!"

"Silly Sho-chan." Oikawa palmed her head, teasing her hair. "So how does it feel? Knowing that your mother is one of the winners?"

"Hmm..." Shouko placed her palm over her heart, as if she was literally trying to decipher just how she felt about the situation.  _Uwaah... my parents are so cool..._ She said as much before asking, "How did you win, kaa-chan?"

"Well," Naoko began before Oikawa cut her off.

"This is the part where you say 'where do I even begin'," Oikawa said matter-of-factly.

"What about at the beginning?" Shouko asked.

Naoko cleared her throat, shooting them stern looks, though Shouko was really the only one that was affected. "It's a long story, Sho-chan, and I'm not sure if we have time to tell it all tonight."

"Aww...!"

"Oh, come on, Naachan," Oikawa said, propping his head on his palm. "Don't be such a spoilsport. Look how excited she is! Just look!" To emphasize his point, he picked Shouko up by the armpits and hovered her above the table.

Naoko sighed. "Tooru..."

"Please!" Oikawa and Shouko pleaded at the same time.

"I..." Anzu's words rang in her head again and she relented. "Oh, alright. Why don't we all move to the couch for this? I'd rather not talk over my dinner."

They agreed.

Dinner was eaten and the dishes placed in the sink before all three members of the Oikawa family plopped themselves onto the couch, Shouko squeezing herself between Naoko and Oikawa, relishing in the familiar warmth they emitted.

Oikawa and Shouko glanced over to Naoko expectantly, who was fiddling with the hem of her sleeves as she contemplated on where to begin.  _The problem is, where DOES it even begin? I think it starts with the bills we had to pay. No, it starts with Sumire wanting that violin. It starts with Kageyama asking me to participate with Sumire. It starts with..._ Absently, she stroked Shouko's hair. "Everything started when Tadashi and I transferred to Aobajosai..."  _Yeah. That's it._

* * *

"ITAI! It hurts!" Bokuto whined and pouted at Kuroo, who had smacked his hand with a rolled up volleyball magazine. "What was that for, bro?" Bokuto had tried to grab some free yakiniku they were serving at the Sendai Standoff, only for Kuroo to stop him.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Maybe because you just shoved past about thirty people in the span of ten seconds?"

Bokuto looked back, sweatdropping when he saw thirty angry faces staring back at him. One woman—a socialite by the looks of it—had her painted red lips pursed and was tapping her heeled shoe impatiently on the concrete. "Ahaha... whoops. Sorry everyone!" he issued a mass apology, allowing Kuroo to bring him to the back of the line.

They were soon joined by another male, a very familiar face in the volleyball community. Ushijima Wakatoshi gave them a short nod in greeting and offered a closed-lipped smile before taking a spoonful of his Hayashi rice from a stainless steel container.

"Eh? Ushiwaka-san, you brought your own food?" Kuroo asked, raising both eyebrows at meal and leaning over to him. "Do you have something against street food or something?"

"No," Ushijima answered, looking a bit puzzled at his question. "But I like hashed beef." Was it somehow a crime to bring your favorite food to a celebration? "Plus, it was an opportunity to use the new insulated food jar I bought during my online browsing."

"Dude? Online shopping?" Bokuto chuckled. "Man, you're a pretty surprising guy, Ushiwaka!"

"How so?" Ushijima inquired.

"Well... maybe surprising wasn't the best word to use," Kuroo acknowledged, "But you do have this... old lady charm about you."

"That's right!" Bokuto smacked his fist into his palm, grinning widely. "Which is pretty awesome! Not to mention the design you picked."  _I never pegged him as a ladybug kind of guy._

Ushijima looked down at his food jar, examining the cutesy ladybug pattern. "What's wrong with it? I find this shade of red very comforting." He continued to stare at it. "But now that I take a closer look at it, the ladybird's coal black eyes can come off as rather disconcerting."

"Nah, it's cool," Kuroo said flippantly, fiddling with the magazine in his hand, "You do what you wanna do. Don't let us influence you  _too_ much."

The line moved up, and Bokuto gratefully took a few sticks of barbecued meat. Kuroo had to push him out of the line just to not starve during the exhibition performances, which were due to start soon. In the end, Ushijima only managed to get one stick of meat, but the ace was totally fine with it.

Ushijima was about to bite into it when a little girl looked up at him with wide eyes. "Oh, hello, Sho-chan." He noticed that she was staring at his stick of barbecued meat. "Did you want this?"

Shouko flushed. "C-can I?!" She was about to take it when Oikawa appeared behind her and pulled her back.

"Now, Sho-chan, what did I say about taking things from strangers?" he said sternly, his gaze flattening into a frown.

"But Waka-san isn't a stranger," Shouko protested, confused.

"He's a stranger as far as I'm concerned," Oikawa said petulantly, puffing his cheeks out in irritation.

"Oikawa-san," Ushijima greeted blandly. "If she wants it, just let her take it."

"Nuh uh!" Oikawa pulled her further back, sticking his tongue at Ushijima as he glared. "Don't tell me how to parent my kid."

"Is there a specific way you parent Sho-chan? If there is, I would appreciate it if you shared it with me. Next time, maybe you won't have to get so worked about it." Ushijima raised an eyebrow. "Or is this your petty pride speaking again?"

A vein popped on Oikawa's cheek. "Oi, I don't have time to explain fatherhood to you. Why don't you try being less of a bastard first—"

"And this is where we step in!" Kuroo said loudly, pushing Oikawa back. "Hey, Sho-chan. Nice yukata."

"Captain Bedhead!" Shouko greeted with a wave.

Bokuto barked a laugh as Kuroo spluttered, pinning Oikawa with an accusing glare. "What have you been telling this kid?"

"Oh, nothing," Oikawa said innocently, "She's smart enough to figure things out for herself, you know."

"Are you Haruhi-chan's father?" Shouko turned to Bokuto next, blinking owlishly. "You two have the same hair."

Bokuto puffed out his chest in pride. "Hey, hey, you're pretty bright! You definitely take after your mother."

Oikawa protested. "I'm right here, you know!"

"Where is Iwaizumi?" Ushijima suddenly asked, turning his head around. There was some sauce on the corner of his mouth from the hashed beef and rice he was eating. "I would have thought that you two would show up together."

Oikawa shook his head. "Iwa-chan should be here soon. We came early because my wife is performing in the exhibition rounds so we had to come early for soundcheck and that shit—I mean stuff." He looked down at Shouko, who was glancing around like Ushijima, likely looking for Kagami or Haruhi. "She's backstage with Sumire-chan."

"That's right." Kuroo's eyes lit up ever so slightly. "Naoko and Sumire are past winners, aren't they? Rin's doing an act for the exhibition rounds as well."

"Is she?" Oikawa blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize that she was a past winner." Then again, he hadn't exactly frequented the Sendai Standoff before or after Naoko's win during his third year.

"She won the year after Naoko and Sumire," Kuroo said with a small snort. "She entered as part of a small time band with some of her friends."

Oikawa was about to say something when they were joined by three other people, two tall and one short.

"Kagami!" Shouko ran up to her friend, taking her by the hands. "What took you so long?"

"We didn't make you wait that long, did we?" Iwaizumi said, Kiyoko by his side.

"Nah, it's all good, bro," Bokuto said, slapping his back. "And Kiyoko-san too? You look as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you, Bokuto-san," Kiyoko replied politely. She was wearing a lilac yukata similar to Kagami's and Shouko's. Iwaizumi's yukata was navy blue, Oikawa's turquoise-teal, and Ushijima's brown. Kuroo and Bokuto had chosen to show up in everyday clothing.

In the trees, the evening cicadas chirped as the leaves got caught in the summer breeze.

As Shouko and Kagami disappeared off somewhere to find Kagami, Oikawa finally noticed the insulated food jar Ushijima was eating out from.

"Ladybugs," the brown-haired man deadpanned. "Actually, though?"

"Yes, actually," Ushijima replied, unembarrassed. "Is there something wrong?"

Oikawa grinned and was about to retort when Iwaizumi elbowed him. "Itai! Iwa-chan, what was that for?"

"Sorry, but I think there was a ping on my pettiness radar," Iwaizumi snarked.

"It must have been a pretty big ping," Kuroo mused, smirking.

"Oh, it was humongous," Iwaizumi confirmed.

"I'm surprised that your radar didn't collapse," Bokuto added, laughing at his own joke.

"Gyak!" Oikawa did a double take. "Why are you all ganging up on me? How mean of you guys!"

"I think that's a very nice food jar, Ushijima-san," Kiyoko complimented, eyeing the jar. "Where did you get it from?"  _I'm pretty sure my cousin's toddler has the exact same jar, actually..._

"I bought it from Ponpare Mall," Ushijima answered her, "They were having a sale on some of their items, and I found more use in a food insulator than a DIY camping set."

"Eh?!" Suddenly, Oikawa pointed accusingly at him, startling Bokuto and Iwaizumi. "What do you mean, Ponpare Mall?! That's where I shop too! Copycat!"

"Ohh, so is that where you got your beloved coffee machine from?" Kuroo said with a shit-eating grin. "You know, your caffeinated mistress? How does it feel knowing that Ushiwaka-san shops at the same place?"

Iwaizumi sweatdropped. "You make it sound like a brothel."

"And there goes your petty pride again," Ushijima said, almost wistfully. He closed his eyes. "Oikawa, I have no qualms in sharing the same taste of internet malls as you, so I hope that you feel the same way."

"Heh, petty pride, huh?" Oikawa sneered at him. "Well, look where that petty pride got me? I'm rich, successful—"

"Whoa, dude, way to toot your own horn," Bokuto remarked, effectively interrupting Oikawa.

"I too am rich and successful," Ushijima pointed out.

"—and way prettier than you!" Oikawa finished with a pointed glare at the other man. "At least I don't have a  _horse face_!"  _Damn, this guy is infuriating!_

Ushijima's glance darkened, and he said in an icy tone, "I'd like to wrap that remark in a ribbon and hand it right back to you,  _Oikawa-san_."

Bokuto let out a low whistle, Kuroo doing the same.

Kiyoko sighed. "Boys, please."

"Actually, that should be 'men', Kiyoko-san," said Kuroo.

"I'll call you 'men' when you start acting like men and not small boys," Kiyoko said indifferently.

All the males winced at her tone.

"I hope you don't mind me saying, Kiyoko, but you've been unusually moody lately," Oikawa commented, not unkindly, "Something wrong?"

Kiyoko's cheeks flushed slightly. "A-ah, about that..."

Iwaizumi passed his hand through his hair, equally red in the face. "You see..."

Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa all leaned it as if they were about to hear some big secret. Ushijima simply watched as he finished the last of his Hayashi rice, scraping the sides of the pot.

Kiyoko and Iwaizumi exchanged a glance before the former announced, "I'm pregnant."

The only sound that could be heard was Ushijima folding the spoon that came with his food jar. It got stuck halfway, so he was struggling with it. He looked up. "I am happy for you, Kiyoko-san, Iwaizumi-san."

Then Bokuto nudged Iwaizumi with a huge smile on his face. "Hajime, you  _dog_! Congrats, bro!"

"Congratulations!" Oikawa said genuinely, a little surprised. The whole reason that Iwaizumi and Kiyoko had adopted Kagami in the first place was because they supposedly could not conceive a child on their own. "But, Iwa-chan, I thought..."

"We all did," Iwaizumi said, "But I guess—"

"Miracles happen?" offered Kuroo, looking a bit faraway.

Iwaizumi paused to consider his words before smiling and holding his dear Kiyoko closer. "Yeah. Yeah, they do, don't they?"

* * *

"Waaaaahhhhh, so cool!" Shouko said as she circled round and round in a single spot in the grass, taking in all the stars in the sky. "Look, look, Kagami! Look at all those alien planets...!"

"No, silly, they're stars," Kagami corrected with a giggle. "They're big balls of gas really far away in space."

"Big balls of gas?" Shouko wrinkled her nose, a little dizzy from all the spinning she had been doing. "That sounds nasty..."

"I second that," a new voice said, and the girls turned to see a slightly sweaty Haruhi approach them, spinning a volleyball in her hands. She had been at volleyball training with her volleyball club at school earlier, and had just arrived by bus. She brushed her dyed bangs out of her eyes. "You sure do have a way with words, Kagami."

Kagami blushed. "H-hey, now...!"

Thankfully, Shouko changed the subject, sparing Kagami from further embarrassment. "Hey, hey! Did you know that my mom is performing tonight?!"

"Eh? Really?" Kagami blinked at her. "We're talking about Naoko-san, right?"

"Mmhm!" Shouko nodded proudly.

"Huh..." Haruhi hummed. "No offence, Sho-chan, but your mom doesn't seem like the type."

"Well, she is, okay?" Shouko insisted, pouting. "My mom is super cool..."

Kagami patted her head. "I'm sure she is, Sho-chan."  _Sho-chan likes to make things up sometimes, but she sounds really serious about this... so is it truth or lie?_

"Okaa-chan is backstage right now with Sumire-nee," Shouko continued, nodding along as she spoke, as if she was making some magnificent conclusion to the world's hardest question. "The performance is going to start soon!"

"What should we do to pass the time?" asked Kagami.

"How about a little volleyball?" Haruhi suggested, holding up her prized volleyball. At Kagami's skeptical look, she added, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"You know I suck at volleyball," Kagami sulked, folding her arms.

"I'll do easy on you," Haruhi offered, eyes pleading.

After much pleading on Haruhi's part, Kagami gave in. "Fine, fine. But no spiking, okay? We're just going to be digging and tossing the ball around."

"Deal! Ready, Sho-chan?"

"Ready!" Shouko caught the ball when Haruhi set it to her. "I WIN!" she declared, holding up the ball in triumph.

"EH?!"

Haruhi sweatdropped. "Sho-chan, do you even know how to play volleyball?"

Shouko tipped her head to the side, perplexed. "... Is that not how you play?"

Kagami planted her hands on her hips. "Hooboy, it looks like we've got some explaining to do before we start."

"Aww man!" Haruhi groaned. "Alright, let's make it quick. Okay, what you do in volleyball is..." She started to ramble off the inner workings of volleyball, even telling Shouko of things irrelevant to their current situation, like net fouls and the three touches rule.

"Got it?" Haruhi said at the end of her long-winded explanation.

"... Net... foul?"

"GAH!" Haruhi fell backwards in comic exasperation, Kagami laughing at her predicament. Haruhi got up again, brushing the grass off her shorts. "Basically, just keep the ball from touching the ground by doing this," she set the ball with her long, thin fingers, "or this," she threw the ball up in the air and dug it, "okay?"

Understanding lit up Shouko's eyes and she smiled and nodded. "I get it! Why didn't you just say so before, Haruhi?"

The three girls moved into a circle, Haruhi starting off by setting the ball to Kagami, who passed it to Shouko. Sticking her tongue out, Shouko clumsily dug the ball, sending it flying to the side. "Oops."

"Don't mind, don't mind," Haruhi said, chasing after the ball.  _Shouko's still a beginner,_ she reminded herself when she felt a twinge of annoyance,  _I can't expect her to be a pro like dad or his friends. Even I'm not that good!_ She found the ball and bent over to pick it up, unaware of another person approaching her. When she stood back up, she startled. "Oh, sorry— _K-Kageyama-san?!_ "

"Haruhi-san," Kageyama said as Haruhi's eyes strayed to the orange-haired man beside him, who she recognized as Hinata Shouyo, the other half of the freak duo. "Where's your dad?"

"Dad?" Hinata leaned in, blinking owlishly. "Say... are you Bokuto's kid?!" His face lit up as he grinned. "You look just like him! That's pretty cool, don't you think so, Kageyama?"

Kageyama made a noncommittal noise as Haruhi flushed, "Sorry, I don't know where otou-san is... I got here not long ago."

"Ah, that's fine," Hinata said amiably. "Are you playing volleyball with someone?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, just with my two friends."

"Can we join?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata dumbass," Kageyama scolded, "Don't impose on people like that."

"OH!" Haruhi jumped as the reality of the offer finally caught up to her. "U-um, I don't mind. In fact, please play with us! That would be super awesome...! I'm a really big fan of you guys, you know!"

"We have fans?!" Hinata gasped.

"Don't you know?" Kageyama said to him, frowning. "Why else do you think the stands are filled with people whenever we play?"

"Ehh..." Hinata chuckled. "I mean, stadium food is pretty good, right?"

Kageyama used the rolled up directions pamphlet in his hand to smack Hinata over the head. "Don't be an idiot." He looked over to Haruhi, who was observing with wide eyes. "So where are your friends?"

"O-over here!" Haruhi led the freak duo to where Shouko and Kagami were waiting. The two girls were sitting in the grass and chatting animatedly, Shouko's arms moving around in the air from time to time. "Hey, guys! I found more people to play with us. They're pretty famous in the volleyball world—"

"Tobio-nii!" Suddenly, Shouko was on her feet and running over to Kageyama throwing her arms around his waist in a hug. "I missed you~"

"Sho-chan," Kageyama said, blinking in mild surprised before smirking. "Should have known that you'd be here. Volleyball's in your blood, even if your dad is kind of a jackass."

"Bakageyama!" Hinata admonished, channeling his inner Sugawara, "Don't say bad words in front of small kids!"

Shouko frowned at the orange-haired male. "Hey, don't bully Tobio-nii."

Kageyama's smirk widened. "You hear that, dumbass?" he said smugly to Hinata.

Haruhi laughed nervously, feeling inadequate in the face of Shouko.  _Right... I forgot that they're family._

"Hi, Kageyama-san," Kagami greeted politely, "It's good to see you again. You too, Hinata-san."

They formed a circle again, this time with five people. Kageyama's sets were even more amazing up close, and Haruhi found herself admiring the fluidity and grace in the black-haired man's tosses. Hinata didn't really get his time to shine as they'd agreed not to spike, but even a blind baby could tell that he was a pro at the game.

"HWAAH!" Shouko suddenly shouted, smacking the ball with her palm and sending it to the side. Kagami squawked when it flew past her face and landed in Kageyama's arms. The man dug it up for Haruhi to set to Hinata.

"So scary," Kagami muttered, cringing.  _Ahahaha... even Sho-chan seems to be better at this than me._ The ball went her way again and she set it. Backwards. She made a spluttering sound, turning around to see the ball land in the grass—

Kagami blinked when the ball didn't even touch the ground, having been picked up by a swift dig done by none other than Kuroo Tetsuro. The man, agile as a cat, rolled across the grass and onto his feet as the ball flew into the air. Haruhi stood in front of Kagami to catch the ball, surprised when a few more men and a woman joined them.

"Yoohoo~" Oikawa greeted, lifting his hand. "Can we play too?"

"Otou-san!" Shouko grinned at him. "And Iwa-chan too!"

"Yo, otou-san," Haruhi said, waving to Bokuto. "And Kuroo too."

"Hey, kid," Kuroo replied, his hands in his pockets. "Been working on your delayed spike lately?"

Bokuto shot him a disapproving glance. "That delayed spike of yours is what got her foot injured in the first place."

"Otou-san!" exclaimed an embarrassed Haruhi. "He doesn't need to know that... Besides, I'm okay now."

"Can we just start already?" Oikawa asked loudly, "My fingers are itching. I feel like I haven't set a ball in ages."

They agreed unanimously on that, even when Bokuto asked for his daughter to be more careful with her weak ankles.

Oikawa started off with the ball, setting it up in the air to Kageyama, who tossed it to Ushijima. The former Shiratorizawa ace received it, sending it to Haruhi, who dug it to Kuroo. Even Kiyoko participated.

There were a few meaningless arguments, mostly between Oikawa and Kageyama over their abilities as a setter. Bokuto worried too much for Haruhi's taste and Iwaizumi was careful to block any fast-moving ball that went to Kiyoko.

It wasn't perfect. But that didn't matter, because it was fun. Twenty minutes later, their casual volleyball playing ended up with all of them lying on the grass on their backs and laughing until their sides ached, even the stoic Ushijima and the cool Kiyoko, though not to the same extent as everyone else.

Suddenly, Hinata stood up. "Hey, everyone, I think the show's starting! Look!" He pointed toward the stage, where a large crowd had gathered and the curtains were moving.

"What are we waiting for then?" Oikawa said, "Let's go!"

"Hey, hey!" Bokuto nudged Kuroo as they walked. "Rin-chan is performing too, isn't she?"

"With Saki and Soomi, yes," Kuroo confirmed.

"My cousin is going to be up there as well," Ushijima said out of the blue, garnering some attention. "You may know her. She won in the same year as Naoko-san. Kuro Mai?"

"Oh!" Oikawa's eyes lit up with recognition. "I remember. The girl who beat Leiko."

"Heh," Iwaizumi said, "That reminds me of something... remember when Naoko stood up against that asshat?"

"God, yes!"

"Did you get turned on?" Kuroo inquired shamelessly, making sure the kids were too far ahead with Hinata and Kageyama to hear.

"Pfft," Oikawa waved his hand at him, "I'm not answering that. Who do you take me for?"

Most of the seats were full by the time they got to the stage, but they were okay with standing near enough to touch said stage.

"Otou-san, can you lift me up?" Shouko asked. "I can't see anything."

Oikawa agreed, and two minutes later, Shouko was sitting on his shoulders, starry-eyed as she watched the curtains lifted up, revealing Naoko and Sumire standing back to back, as opposed to the Takahiro siblings, sitting on separate pianos but positioned in a way that screamed comradery.

The music began.

* * *

Three, almost four hours later, the winners were named and the stage being packed up. In another section of the park, the fireworks show was due to begin soon, and that was where the gang currently were, joined by Naoko and Sumire. Rin had opted to stay with her friends.

Thought it was getting late, Shouko was wide awake, staring up at the sky for any sign of fireworks.

Naoko brushed a strand of hair behind Shouko's ear. "You'll know when they start," she promised, "So don't worry too much about it."

Kagami and Haruhi were talking off to the side with Bokuto.

"Hey, Kagami-chan, Haruhi told me that you won a goldfish from a festival a few weeks ago," Bokuto said as he leaned against the back of the wooden bench they were sitting on.

"A-ah, yes..." Kagami blushed. "About that..."

"How is it doing?" Haruhi asked when Kagami trailed off. "It didn't die or anything, right?"

"What died?" Kuroo jumped into the conversation, Ushijima by his side.

"Kagami's goldfish," Bokuto informed them.

"I am sorry for your loss," Ushijima said sincerely, his gaze saddening slightly. "Are you going to give it a funeral?"

"Gyoppi-chan isn't dead!" Kagami blurted, looking more and more embarrassed. Unfortunately, she said it far too loudly, attracting the attention of her parents.

"Ah, are we talking about Gyoppi-chan?" Iwaizumi smirked. "This ought to be good."

"Ooooh, Kagami, I'm so curious!" cried Haruhi, gripping the bench. "What happened to Gyoppi-chan?"

"Well... okay, fine." Kagami flushed and frowned, hoping to get it over and done with. "I ended up feeding it too much and..." She widened the distance between her hands. "... Now it looks kinda like this."

"Huge!" Bokuto cried with a sweatdrop.

"Shogun?!" Haruhi added unhelpfully.

"Wait a minute," Kuroo said, "Are you sure you didn't end up feeding it something weird? Because that's no longer a goldfish."

Bokuto narrowed his eyes at the girl, then at Iwaizumi. "You're not going to eat it, are you?"

"NO!" Iwaizumi and Kagami shouted at the same time, Kiyoko giving them an amused glance. Kagami groaned and buried her face into her hands. "How could I?"

Standing with the Oikawa family, Kageyama announced, "It should be starting soon."

"Oh, good," Sumire said with a sigh, the warmth of Hinata and Kageyama a welcome feeling in the evening chill. It sure didn't feel like summer now. "I can't wait to go home and sleep."

"No one is making you stay here, you know," Naoko pointed out.

"H-hey, you make it sound like you don't want me around," Sumire said jokingly. "Besides, I have to stay. Times like this is when we all make happy memories and stuff like that."

"Yeah, but..." Oikawa slapped a mosquito on his arm, scowling. "It never ends up being like that!"

"Dammit, you're right." Sumire scratched at her arms, her head hanging. "I hate summer..."

"You hate every season," Kageyama said.

"For good reason!"

Grinning, Hinata began to recite,  _"Because summer is too hot, winter is too cold, autumn is too windy, and spring is too sneezy."_

"Sneezy?" Naoko echoed in a deadpan.

"I don't sound like that," Sumire muttered, elbowing her friend.

"You know, I remember that you used to try and look at fireworks from the side to see if they were still flat," Naoko said to Sumire. "You did it every time we went to a fireworks display and it annoyed okaa-san so much..."

"Ehh?" Shouko grinned up at Sumire. "Even I know that's silly! You're weird, Sumire-nee."

"Hey, she said used to, not that I still do, you brat!" Sumire pinched her cheek, making her whine.

Oikawa chuckled lowly. "Even the supposed genius Sumire has her blonde moments..."

"Well, she was younger than Sho-chan is now," Naoko stated. "Actually, I used to wonder the same thing too..."

At that admission, Oikawa decided to add his own. "When I was a kid, I used to think that aliens made fireworks."

Naoko snorted in amusement. "Why am I not surprised?"

"When I was younger, I used to be scared of fireworks," Hinata put in, a wistful smile on his face. "I thought that they would burn me if I put my hand up too high."

"See?" Sumire said. "I wasn't the only one."

They turned to Kageyama, who shrugged. "I didn't really have anything like that..."

"Yes, because you're as creative as a brick," Oikawa said snidely, smirking atthe younger male.

Before Kageyama could retort, the crowd in the grass fell into a hushed silence as the first firecracker flew into the sky, exploding loudly.

"Uwaah!" Shouko gasped. "So cool..."

The fireworks show continued to blow up the sky, and the two groups began to meld into one again. Kuroo's shoulder bumped against Oikawa's and Naoko found herself sandwiched between her husband and Sumire.

"Ooh!" went the crowd as a particularly elaborate firework lit up the night sky. "Aahhh!"

Just as the last firework exploded, Oikawa leaned down and kissed Naoko, catching her off guard. But she soon gathered her bearings, welcoming the familiar sensation.

"What was that for?" Naoko asked when they broke apart, blinking curiously.

Oikawa gave her a sidelong glance, amusement in his eyes. "Do I need a reason?"

She paused. "No, I guess not."

"Hey, if you two are done, we're going to play more volleyball," Kuroo called, "Want to come?"

Naoko and Oikawa exchanged a glance before the latter accepted, "Sure, why not?" Then they took Shouko by either hand and walked off to where the others were waiting.

Above them, wisps of smoke from the fireworks evaporated into the starry night sky as summer came to a close.

 


End file.
